In March 1999, Madonna released Nothing Really Matters. It was the fifth and final single to be released from her multi-million selling, Grammy-award winning comeback album Ray Of Light, and a fine one at that. The song peaked at No.7 in the UK and spent eight weeks on the chart. The song later re-entered the UK chart for just one week in June 1999 when it climbed to No.75. This was the song that closed a collection of fantastic single releases from Ray Of Light, and will be looked back on in a few years' time as the best era of Madonna's career, without a doubt.

Nothing Really Matters opens slow and hauntingly. The beat is distant, as it grows ever closer and then it makes a high pitched noise, before Madonna starts singing the first verse, "When I was very young. Nothing really mattered to me but making myself happy. I was the only one. Now that I am grown. Everything's changed. I'll never be the same again. Because of you." The song then hits out like a shockwave and the beat strikes as Madonna sings the chorus, "Nothing really matters. Love is all we need. Everything I give you. All comes back to me." It's a short chorus, and it's instantly followed up by the second verse, "Looking at my life. It's very clear to me. I lived so selfishly. I was the only one. I realise. That nobody wins. Something is ending. And something begins." A shorter verse than the first, but still as effective. Madonna then goes on to repeat the chorus twice, before the beat turns around and Madonna sings "Nothing takes the past away. Like the future. Nothing makes the darkness go. Like the light. You're shelter from the storm. Give me comfort in your arms." An instrumental them plays. Wonderful bells and interesting drums play as Madonna repeats "Ah." The chorus is then repeated by Madonna a few more times and the song fades down and ends.

The video to Nothing Really Matters is very good, and one of Madonna's best from the Ray Of Light period. We see Madonna stood in the middle of a small room, with Chinese/Japanese clothing, and eccentric make-up. She is holding a see-through bag of water which represents a child and she begins singing. It appears to be underground in a secret cavern with many Chinese and Japanese children/adults with white painted faces. They move around in a strange fashion to the beat. Everything is very strange, and it's meant to be. All in all, Nothing Really Matters is a wonderful Madonna dancefloor stomper with a spooky video to match.

I love this song. The remixes are GORGEOUS!
1. Album Version (4:28, 10/10): Just what it says.
2. Club 69 Vocal Club Mix (7:53, 10/10): Groovy! It's a real shame that the Club 69 moniker wasn't used in more remixes, because he did a great job! (For those of you who don't know, Club 69 is Peter Rauhofer, "housed-up".)
3. Club 69 Future Mix (8:20, 10/10): Really cool, but a bit too noisy and overwhelming at times.
4. Club 69 Phunk Mix (8:02, 10/10): Phunky! I love it.
5. Club 69 Speed Mix (10:39, 11/10): No, that's not a typo. I love this one to death! The bass is KILLER!
6. Kruder & Dorfmeister Remix (11:10, 10/10): Absolutely gorgeous. Very slow take on the song. It would've been even better if, after she sang "like the future", it went into ambient-breakbeat mode.
7. Vikram Remix (7:44, 10/10): Another beautifully-done chill mix.
8. Club 69 Future Dub (5:49, 10/10): Coulda been longer, but I can't give it anything less than a 10.
9. Club 69 Radio Mix (3:44, 10/10): Love this edit! It starts out like the album version, then, when M sings "because of you", you hear a cymbal crash and it goes into the Club 69 remix! Nicely done!
You should buy this single if:
a) you love to dance
b) you are a HUGE Madonna fan, like myself
or
c) you love remixes.
9 great mixes for $7.49! What more could you want?
l8r!

The beauty of this song lies in its lyrics, with the simple messages of universal acceptance and love. The remixes of NOTHING REALLY MATTERS are excellent, and Madonna provides the fans their money's worth, with this 9 track maxi single. Many of the songs are remixed by Club 69, which provide a variety of different remixes, slow ones, fast ones, but in the end they are all great remixes which will satisfy even the biggest Madonna fans. There's also the Vikram remix, which almost has a feeling of drum and bass to it. Overall though, this would be the most satisfying maxi single from Madonna's album RAY OF LIGHT, and its worth the price for these remixes!

Madonna does a good job as always. But get the album "Ray of Light." This is a great single with okay mixes. Wanna know more about how I think? Some comments:

1) Album Version (4:27) This is the best one, 'coz it's the orig. album version.

2) Club 69 Vocal Club Mix (7:51) Great mix,...but very very long.

3) Club 69 Future Mix (8:19) Even longer...but still acceptable.

4) Club 69 Phunk Mix (8:00) Phunk? Funk?

5) Club 69 Speed Mix (10:35) Obviously it's not so fast, look at the running time of the track.

6) Kruder & Dorfmeister Remix (11:10) Extremely long....

7) Vikram Remix (7:43) Still long, but going down with minutes.

8) Club 69 Future Dub (5:48) Tres interesting.

9) Club 69 Radio Mix (3:45) Short and sweet.

*So all in all the single's very nice but get the album "Ray of Light" you'll probably find it more interesting.

I LOVE this song like crazy. My favorite remix is Track 3, Club 69 Future Mix, I mean It's really really good. On top of that, you have 9 tracks, full of remixes.

madonna always makes great singles!