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10 songs that feel like Kathleen

Matched to Kathleen by Townes Van Zandt on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

Kathleen
The song you love
Kathleen
Townes Van Zandt
safe 16/100 intensity 75 BPM
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Cruel World — Lana Del Rey safe 75 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (16/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (75 BPM).

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Coming Up Roses — Elliott Smith safe 75 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (16/100). Same smooth texture.

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Smoke Signals — Phoebe Bridgers safe 75 BPM

Keeps the same melancholy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (16/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (75 BPM).

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Punisher — Phoebe Bridgers safe 75 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (16/100). Same smooth texture.

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Light Years — The National safe 75 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (16/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (75 BPM).

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Glass Eyes — Radiohead safe 75 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (16/100). Same smooth texture.

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Angel from Montgomery — John Prine safe 75 BPM

Keeps the same melancholy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (16/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (75 BPM).

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Sam Stone — John Prine safe 75 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (16/100). Same smooth texture.

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Pineola — Lucinda Williams safe 75 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (16/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (75 BPM).

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Life Goes On — Ed Sheeran safe 78 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (16/100). Same smooth texture.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Kathleen” by Townes Van Zandt?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Cruel World” by Lana Del Rey, “Coming Up Roses” by Elliott Smith, “Smoke Signals” by Phoebe Bridgers — the top match scores 99% alike. Matching is by how the songs actually move (intensity, dynamic range, texture, tempo, predictability, vocal force), not by genre tag or popularity.

How intense is “Kathleen”?

It measures 16/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 4/10, smooth texture, no sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Tempo is 75 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 sits near the calm end of everything we've measured — gentler than 95% of the 19,209 songs in the library. Its intensity reading of 16/100 comes from a dynamic range of 4/10, smooth texture, no sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is an unusually steady, even volume: more extreme on that axis than 97% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on full chaos — sudden changes, huge quiet-to-loud swings, and relentless energy — 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

Sleep10/10
Focus9/10
Workout0/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype0/10

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

1968 in context

The 182 songs we’ve measured from 1968 average a dynamic range of 6.1/10. At 4/10, this track is gentler and steadier than its year.

Mixes smoothly with

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

The fingerprint

Intensity16
Dynamics33
Tempo19
Surprise0
Density0
Predictability0
Vocal force25
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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