61. Hannah Diamond - “Hi”

Hannah Diamond and PC Music were at it again in 2015, building upon the crystalline plastic empire of deception they first erected in 2014. This song is pure wonder, part social commentary and part nauseating hyperbole. It once again takes Pop to the extreme, turning the quintessential genre of modern humanity into something more android than human.

It blurs the line between what it means to be human and machine, where technology becomes the medium for emotion, both in the subject of the song and in its delivery. All the naivety and innocence of young love - something so purely human - is suddenly reliant upon the Internet, emphasizing the degree of separation present between humanity and lovers in the modern world, as if interaction, or even love for that matter, is no longer possible without technology bridging the gap. This emphasis is even more evident in Hannah Diamond (so meta). The artist is shrouded in mystery, blurring the gap between not only gender, but also humanity. Its a song that’s entirely reliant upon technology, complete with the modulated plastic sheen of the vocals and the elasticity of the accompanying bubble gum instrumental, all if it carefully crafted to remove the humanity while at the same time effusively asserting its humanity (because is there anything more human than pure, uninhibited emotion?). It’s a song that despite it whimsical and somewhat laughable features still manages to appeal to the ear and the heart, but more than that, it challenges the listener through the most benign medium imaginable, and leads them to contemplate some of the most pressing philosophical questions facing contemporary culture. Its art in its purest form - providing commentary, challenging the listener, and encompassing the modern zeitgeist, all while under the guise of entertainment, and for that I love it.