Eleanor Rigby

When people discuss their favorite Beatles songs, it's generally an optimistic, upbeat song about something warm and fuzzy. I, however, have always had a fascination with the song "Eleanor Rigby." I have never really known why this was my favorite song by the iconic band, but now that I question it, a clarity comes with it. For everyone living under a rock, here's the song.

The song is simply so much different that anything they've ever done before. It was outright shocking to the people of its time. The song is on the Revolver album, which is considerably darker that the ones before it, thanks in large part to this song. It tells a tale of Eleanor Rigby, who is incredibly lonely and lives in a church community. Father MacKenzie is also one of the "lonely people." One would think that, in this song, the two may unite and end their solidarity, but something else quite morbid ties the two together. The Father is the one to bury Eleanor. The idea that she dies in a church sounds righteous or, at the very least, convenient, but is made more depressing by pointing out that she was "buried with her name, nobody came." She had no one in the world and her whole proof of existence was snuffed out just like that.
However, we are led to believe that she didn't have much of an existence to begin with. "She kept her face in a jar by the door" eludes to her being quite faceless. Simply put, no one cared.
The song doesn't tell the story in a sympathetic way, but rather matter-of-factly, stating the actions and storyline of this event.
It goes on to say that Father MacKenzie was "writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear... No one was saved." The Beatles elude to the death of the communal spirit in this community. Once again, it's so matter-of-fact that it's hard to question. These types of poetry are my favorite. It's the story left untold, the lonely people in this world and proof that they actually lived, however bleakly.

Dandy Warhol

It was Andy Warhol who said, "When you think about it, department stores are kind of like museums."
Now, this quote may not be familiar to you, but it sure makes you think. When you see Warhol's work, like his Marilyn Monroe Silkscreen, you can see where he was going with this. She was a huge sex symbol in her time, and she was very much commercialized. Warhol looked at her and said, "Why can't that be art?" He wanted to see the differentiation of the everyday translated into the art world. 
 
There were people furious over Warhol's art, questioning if he truly was an "artist." Saying that different color copies of something was worth nothing. But that was Warhol's point. He wanted to bridge the gap between "commercial art" and "fine art," which i think he did effectively. He showed that one could be a part of the other. It didn't always have to be black and white.
Warhol may not be for everyone, and maybe that's what I love about him. His use of vibrant colors and his statements really make me respect him. However, after he was nearly murdered by a psycho lady, he became more entrepreneurial and cynical towards his art and life in general. In his book, THE Philosophy of Andy Warhol he says "Making money is art, and working is art and good business is the best art." This is rather disheartening for a Warhol lover, wondering if he was only out to make a buck his whole career, but I personally think that the assassination attempt changed him. Seeing that much hatred towards him, made him hate his fans and most all humanity.