“I’m a Diamond” is an absolute masterpiece of lyrical and visual genius. I will dissect each aspect of its brilliance below.

Bill Wurtz’ insistence on being a diamond (which possesses connotations of glamour, luxury and wealth) rather than a box (which possesses connotations of plainness and banality purportedly tastes like mush) is a brilliant presentation of Nietzche’s concept of the Ubermensch. The choice of using mush to describe the taste of boxes is a clever method of emphasizing the blandness and meaninglessness of the non-elite, and provides some engaging gustatory imagery.

Dissonant noises are heard in the opening section of the piece, meant to symbolize the collective rabble and disorder of society. The phrase “boxes taste like mush” is repeated four times, four being associated with death in Chinese culture due to its homophonous relation with death; this serves as a grim reminder of our own mortality, compounded by his pronunciation of “diamond” as “die” in the bridge of the piece, with the coloration of the box as red also serving to represent blood and carnage, inherent in the human condition. The last repetition of the phrase is slightly elongated, meant to demonstrate the struggle of man in their attempts to preserve their own frail lives.

However, the piece then turns to a more hopeful cadence as the concept of the diamond is introduced. It oscillates between red and white, symbolizing its polarized nature between human and divine, before sorting through the pantheon of colors and finally deciding upon blue, a color associated with introspection, clarity and tranquility. Twice, two, blue and right-minded are used to describe the diamond, representing the dual nature of the Ubermensch, their true nature, and their superiority over the left, which has historically been associated with the demonic. The piece finally ends with a warm “for you”, tinging the piece with a quasi-romantic atmosphere typical of the time period.