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10 songs that feel like Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine

Matched to Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine by James Brown on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine
The song you love
Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine
James Brown
intense 80/100 intensity 115 BPM
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Defying Gravity — Stephen Schwartz intense 127 BPM

A 98% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (81/100).

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Walk This Way — Aerosmith intense 100 BPM

97% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (79/100). Same layered texture.

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Waking the Witch — Kate Bush intense 120 BPM

Keeps the same cathartic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (80/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

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Smells Like Teen Spirit — Nirvana intense 117 BPM

Measures 96% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (76/100). Same layered texture.

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Sinnerman — Nina Simone intense 120 BPM

A 96% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (84/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

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Formation — Beyoncé intense 123 BPM

96% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (77/100). Same layered texture.

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Break Free — Zedd featuring Ariana Grande intense 130 BPM

Keeps the same cathartic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (78/100). Measured 95% alike.

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Dancing's Not a Crime — Panic! At The Disco intense 120 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (80/100). Same layered texture.

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Jumpin' Jack Flash — The Rolling Stones intense 110 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same energetic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (80/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (110 BPM).

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Rape Me — Nirvana intense 110 BPM

96% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (76/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine is more than you want right now.

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What We All Come to Need — Pelican moderate 120 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. Intensity 43/100, down from 80. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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Angel Tears — Pelican moderate 120 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9, so it lands at 43/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Slide Tackle by Japanese Breakfast
Slide Tackle — Japanese Breakfast moderate 128 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. Reads 54/100.

Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho by Mahalia Jackson
Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho — Mahalia Jackson moderate 120 BPM

Holds the same feel while it measures markedly calmer overall. 64/100, versus the original's 80. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Mean Woman Blues by Roy Orbison
Mean Woman Blues — Roy Orbison moderate 120 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. Intensity 60/100, down from 80. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I) — Yazoo moderate 115 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 9, so it lands at 49/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

I'm Coming Out by Diana Ross
I'm Coming Out — Diana Ross moderate 115 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. Reads 52/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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Armistice — Phoenix moderate 120 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. 60/100, versus the original's 80. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine” by James Brown?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Defying Gravity” by Stephen Schwartz, “Walk This Way” by Aerosmith, “Waking the Witch” by Kate Bush — the top match scores 98% alike. Matching is by how the songs actually move (intensity, dynamic range, texture, tempo, predictability, vocal force), not by genre tag or popularity.

What songs are like “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine” but calmer?

“What We All Come to Need” by Pelican, “Angel Tears” by Pelican, “Slide Tackle” by Japanese Breakfast keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine”?

It measures 80/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 9/10, layered texture, frequent sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 115 BPM.

How do you decide which songs are similar?

Every song in our catalog is measured on 8 dimensions — intensity, dynamic range, tempo, sudden changes, texture, predictability, vocal force and fine sound detail. Similarity is the distance between two songs across those measurements, so matches cross genres and eras. Shared mood tags break ties.

By the numbers: how this song compares

Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.

Where it sits in 19,000 songs

This is one of the more intense things in our library — more energetic than 94% of the 19,209 songs we've measured. Its intensity reading of 80/100 comes from a dynamic range of 9/10, layered texture, frequent shifts, and dynamic vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is a huge quiet-to-loud swing: more extreme on that axis than 96% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on near-total stillness — steady volume, no surprises, a slow and unhurried pulse — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.

Feels almost identical to

Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.

What it’s good for

Sleep0/10
Focus1/10
Workout6/10
Dinner4/10
Party / hype8/10

Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.

1970 in context

The 307 songs we’ve measured from 1970 average a dynamic range of 6.1/10. At 9/10, this track is louder and more dynamic than its year.

Mixes smoothly with

Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.

The fingerprint

Intensity80
Dynamics89
Tempo42
Surprise75
Density33
Predictability100
Vocal force75
Trigger load0

The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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