bleeping synth, on a minor chord. Heavy drum hits stress the melody during the verse. "Nobody Knows Me" is written in common time with a moderately fast tempo of 120 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of C major with Madonna's voice spanning from B3 to C5. The song follows a basic sequence of C–Am–D–Am–A–E as its chord progression. Lyrically, she rejects tabloid culture's "social disease", denouncing both TV and magazines. The chorus features repeated echo shifts of "nobody knows me" while she ponders thoughts like, "It's no good when you're misunderstood, but why should I care what the world thinks of me?". O'Brien described it as a trancey track with a sense of childlike defiant lyrics, dismissing critics who have no knowledge of her "jealously guarded inner self". Critical reception The song received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic praised the song as one of the best tracks of the album, calling it "infectious". Sean O'Brien from The People praised "Nobody Knows Me" as "the best song of the album" and her "one of her best ever". He also said that the song is one of the reasons why Madonna is queen of pop. Jon Pareles from The New York Times considered it as the album's most danceable song. Lucy O'Brien in her book Madonna: Like an Icon, called the song "dazed-sounding". Metro Times described Ahmadzai's programming as "by far the best thing on the album". James Hannaham from Spin compared "Nobody Knows Me" to Donna Summer's "I Feel Love", and deemed it as a highlight from the album. Alan Braidwood from BBC Music felt that the song was "insane" with its electronic, chaotic, fast and manic pounding synths. "There is so much going on here several it'll take several plays to really get it, but it's ace." Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly described "Nobody Knows Me" as the "downright thrilling" and "deploys a shrewd little form-versus-content paradox". Spence D. from IGN Music commented that the song is the coolest song on the album up to this point. Paul Rees from Q magazine complemented the track as a "conventional rock song, filled with drama, darkness and surprises". USA Todays Edna Gunderson said that the "funkified" synth-pop of "Nobody Knows Me" attests to Madonna's "undiminished" skills as a shrewd pop composer. Yahoo! Music's Dan Genoe commented that Madonna has a personality crisis