Living in an Immaterial world, what materials matter?

Thirty-odd years ago Madonna sang about living in a material world while wrapped in hot pink satin, nuzzling fur, dripping in jewels, and being hoisted into the air by a posse of suited men. She was mimicking her idol Marilyn Monroe, who thirty-odd years before that, dressed similarly, had sung about diamonds being a girl’s best friend in the movie “Gentlemen Prefer Blonds.” Flash back another thirty and an equally vampish, blond, Mae West, responded to the exclamation of “Goodness!” from an admirer, with the statement “Goodness had nothing to do with it.”