Constant Craving

#18 by K.D. Lang

I must admit that I wasn’t entirely convinced. But I guess Hank knew what he was doing after all 😎 last week’s song writing prompt Bring the Pain, by Method Man, was off the hook! I really appreciate all the writers who submitted 🙏 Readers if that title intimidated you — no worries, just skip the song and go straight to the comments!

Week #17 Feature🏆

This week’s feature goes to Jeannine Lawall, for her short story titled, A Puzzle for Miss Daisy.

When my Sweetheart asked, “Are you sure you should let Hank pick this week’s prompt?” I told her that I thought that it was a great prompt — yes, it’s rather explicit. But there is a great deal of meaning behind Method Man’s lyrics. And, it’s just a prompt. You can use the title, you don’t necessarily have to like the song.

Well let me tell you, this week’s feature winner Jeannine proved beyond a shadow of doubt that I was right in letting Hank pick our prompt! For a, “Yankee farmgirl, that’s never heard of Method Man,” she did a masterful job researching and dissecting Meth’s, Bring the Pain.

A Puzzle for Miss Daisy

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We’ve got a tie. So here’s another 24hrs & Tiebreaker Poll!

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Now here’s this week’s prompt, Constant Craving, by K.D. Lang.

“Constant Craving“ is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter k.d. lang and Ben Mink, performed by lang and included on her second solo album, Ingénue (1992).

The song was released in the United Kingdom in April 1992 by Sire and Warner Bros. and won lang a Grammy Award in the category for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1993,^[4] as well as an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video. The accompanying music video was directed by Mark Romanek. (Via Wikipedia)

“Constant Craving” peaked at number eight on Canada’s RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart and number 38 on the US Billboard Hot 100, giving lang her only US top-40 hit. It also reached number two on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. In the United Kingdom, the song was a modest hit when released in 1992, but following a reissue in 1993 in the wake of its American success, it reached a new peak of number 15 on the UK Singles Chart.

The accompanying music video for “Constant Craving” was directed by American filmmaker and photographer Mark Romanek and filmed in black-and-white. It presents a fanciful recreation of the premiere of Samuel Beckett‘s play Waiting for Godot in Paris, 1953. Here, she is depicted singing backstage while the actors perform. The director says the song’s lyrics of desperation and waiting fit well with the themes of Beckett’s play. VH1 added the video to its playlist in mid-April 1992. The clip won Best Female Video at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards.

Here’s a great article from the Guardian, where Lang talks about recording the song!

“Constant Craving relates to Samsara, the Buddhist cycle of birth and death, but I wasn’t a practicing Buddhist then so I honestly don’t know what the impetus for the song was. I just wrote it from the perspective of desire and longing.” - K.D. Lang

Our song prompt this week was selected by Bill Ferguson 🇨🇦. Bill is a short story machine😎 Head on over to his page Observations in Time, he’s got a myriad of Fiction right at your fingertips! I’m really enjoying his 25 days of Christmas Stories!

Here’s this week’s Headliner, It’s Always Been!

Jane sat staring into the fire, fixating on the white embers that had flames dancing and singing around them. There was a feeling of calmness moving its way across her mind. “I can do this,” she murmured softly in a rhythmic pattern suggested by the flames…

It’s Always Been

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Okay, now it’s your turn!

Calling all Poets, Fiction, or Non-Fiction writers that love music — Share your prose of 1500 words or less, using the prompt, Constant Craving.

Remember:

• Each Wednesday I’ll publish a newsletter with that week’s song prompt — along with a featured writer’s submission from the previous week.

• Anyone is then free to run with it! Just add the link to your story or prose in the comments of this newsletter.

• Subscribers to Stories from the Jukebox, also have a chance to be featured in the following week’s newsletter. And I’ll do my best to give feedback and restack each submission.

There’s always rules:

1. All forms of prose are welcome, just keep it under 1500 words.

2. Submissions must be published by midnight on Monday.

3. Submissions must include a tag/link to this week’s Song Prompt Newsletter embedded within the post.

   While anyone is welcome to add their post in the comments at any time — all rules must be followed for a post to be eligible to be featured or shared.

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I’m so excited to see what y’all come up with this week!

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