R.E.M. may have called it a day last September, but they’re not exactly going quietly into the good night. I was surprised to see two new releases from the Athens, Georgia band on iTunes today.

Both are remixes of songs that originally appeared on R.E.M.’s 15th and final studio album, Collapse Into Now, celebrating its one-year anniversary this month. “Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter” has been collectively redone by Dickey Doo, Larry Tee & Anthony A3 and “Blue” has been recast by Casey Spooner and Avan Lava.

Here’s Michael Stipe trumpeting the news on R.E.M.’s website (caps-lock, lack of punctuation, and overuse of exclamation points all his):

“I AM SUPER-THRILLED TO PRESENT THESE REMIXES OF 2 OF MY FAVORITE AND SEXIEST SONGS FROM ‘COLLAPSE INTO NOW’, THESE ARE STUNNING BEAUTIES WHO DESERVE THE BEST FLOOR THE BEST SOUND SYSTEM THE BEST AUDIENCE THE BEST SPRING EVER!!! HAVE FUN WITH THEM AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS. THANKS TO CASEY! THANKS TO DICKEY DOO! THANKS TO EVERYBODY!!!”

Interestingly, the tracks picked to be remixed from Collapse Into Now were the two that featured female guests. Peaches pitched in on “Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter,” while Patti Smith, a longtime R.E.M. friend who’d previously sung on “E-Bow The Letter” from 1996’s New Adventures In Hi-Fi, returned for “Blue” (the song for which its parent album was named).

Of the pair, the dark and menacing revamp Casey Spooner and Avan Lava have given “Blue” is my favorite, but I can’t locate an embed, so the remix of “Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter” alone will have to suffice:

This isn’t the first time R.E.M. has turned its tunes over to be remixed by others. In 2002, the band offered r.e.m.IX as a free download, a 10-track album featuring different takes of six songs from Reveal. My favorite R.E.M. remix of the ever is the haunting version of “Leave” (from New Adventures In Hi-Fi) by Johnny Dollar for the A Life Less Ordinary soundtrack.

Purchase R.E.M. – “Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter” (Dickey Doo, Larry Tee & A3 Remix) and “Blue” (Casey Spooner & Avan Lava Remix) via iTunes, Amazon MP3.