Tom Breihan over at Stereogum has been running a column about all the Number One songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart since its inception in 1958. (It’s great—you should check it out.) I decided to use each song as a writing prompt.
A murder ballad missing Nick Cave’s
baritone,
missing any sort of feral
moan,
any bloodlust or anguished
koan alluding to a dripping
subterrane,
missing the red right hand,
the stain
of Satan, the mark of
Cain,
is reason to hang your head
and cry.
Polking Classroom 