Two songs, one from Sweden, the other from Norway, both harking back to the magic discontinuity of 1982-3, when New Pop was in ascendence. The Knife is helped by the stilted voice and a jaunty Cyndi Lauper-esque backing track, snarling rage and disappointment bubbling under the surface. Annie, on the other hand, is silky smooth, channelling Trevor Horn and ABC to come up with The Look of Love (Part 23). Annoyingly, Annie's new album, Anniemal (yes, I know. Take it from me — what I heard almost makes up for the criminal pun), keeps on being delayed; it was supposed to be released in the UK this week, but it's now looking likely for early 2005. See if you can get hold of a pre-release copy from the usual file-sharing networks.

Oh, and finally, because nobody demanded it!