What’s that over in the corner behind the desk? Nope, not a “Red Ryder carbine-action, two-hundred-shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock and a thing which tells time,” but rather, a special “Christmas pressie” from the boys of Coldplay.

Thanking fans for their support this past year, they’re offering a free download of the Thin White Duke remix of “Viva La Vida.” As the band remarks on the site, it is “rather brilliant.”

Thin White Duke is one of several aliases used by producer Stuart Price, who was behind the board for The Killers’ fantastic new LP, Day & Age. Price also co-produced two tracks on Keane’s latest, Perfect Symmetry, and perhaps most notably, collaborated with Madonna on her stellar 2005 disc, Confessions On A Dance Floor.

Coldplay is offering the “Viva La Vida” remix free through Twelfth Night, January 5. And while we’re certainly appreciative, I doubt the giveaway will warm the heart of Joe Satriani.