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10 songs that feel like New Pollution

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

The song you love
New Pollution
Beck
moderate 48/100 intensity 110 BPM
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Wild Wild Life — Talking Heads moderate 110 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same playful pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (110 BPM).

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Ruin — Cat Power moderate 110 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Same layered texture.

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Open and Close — Fela Kuti moderate 110 BPM

Keeps the same playful pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (110 BPM).

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She's Fresh — Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five moderate 110 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Same layered texture.

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Round and Round — Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five moderate 110 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same playful pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (110 BPM).

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Rapture — Blondie moderate 110 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Same layered texture.

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Hard to Get — Rick James moderate 110 BPM

Keeps the same playful pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (110 BPM).

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Burn Rubber on Me — The Gap Band moderate 110 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Same layered texture.

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Humpin' — The Gap Band moderate 110 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same playful pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (110 BPM).

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Zibble Dibble — The Gap Band moderate 110 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when New Pollution is more than you want right now.

22 by Taylor Swift
22 — Taylor Swift safe 120 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 39/100, down from 48. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Monday Morning by Fleetwood Mac
Monday Morning — Fleetwood Mac safe 120 BPM

It stays in our safe band start to finish, so it lands at 41/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Friday I'm In Love by The Cure
Friday I'm In Love — The Cure safe 135 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it stays in our safe band start to finish. Reads 34/100.

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Stand — R.E.M. safe 106 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 40/100, versus the original's 48. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Head Over Heels by ABBA
Head Over Heels — ABBA safe 118 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it stays in our safe band start to finish. Intensity 45/100, down from 48. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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Creepin' In — Norah Jones featuring Dolly Parton safe 120 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6, so it lands at 19/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Cantaloupe Island by Herbie Hancock
Cantaloupe Island — Herbie Hancock safe 105 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it stays in our safe band start to finish. Reads 30/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Skateaway by Dire Straits
Skateaway — Dire Straits safe 110 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 40/100, versus the original's 48. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “New Pollution” by Beck?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Wild Wild Life” by Talking Heads, “Ruin” by Cat Power, “Open and Close” by Fela Kuti — 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.

What songs are like “New Pollution” but calmer?

“22” by Taylor Swift, “Monday Morning” by Fleetwood Mac, “Friday I'm In Love” by The Cure keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “New Pollution”?

It measures 48/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 110 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

On our 19k-song scale this lands in the middle band — more energetic than 52% of songs, calmer than the other 48%. Its intensity reading of 48/100 comes from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and dynamic vocals. It shares this stretch of the spectrum with thousands of other tracks, so the finer fingerprint below is what really separates it.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is an unusually steady, even volume: more extreme on that axis than 79% 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

Sleep4/10
Focus8/10
Workout3/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype5/10

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

1996 in context

The 309 songs we’ve measured from 1996 average a dynamic range of 6.4/10. At 6/10, this track is right in line with its year.

Mixes smoothly with

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

The fingerprint

Intensity48
Dynamics56
Tempo39
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force75
Trigger load25

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

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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