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10 songs that feel like Red Tape

Matched to Red Tape by Circle Jerks 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
Red Tape
Circle Jerks
intense 100/100 intensity 180 BPM
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Police Story — Black Flag intense 180 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same aggressive pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (100/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (180 BPM).

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Small Man Big Mouth — Minor Threat intense 200 BPM

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

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Damaged I — Black Flag intense 160 BPM

Keeps the same aggressive pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (100/100). Measured 96% alike.

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Room 13 — Black Flag intense 180 BPM

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

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Screaming at a Wall — Minor Threat intense 200 BPM

A 94% feel-match — carries the same aggressive pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (100/100).

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Filler — Minor Threat intense 200 BPM

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

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Betray — Minor Threat intense 200 BPM

Keeps the same aggressive pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (100/100). Measured 96% alike.

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Drinking and Driving — Black Flag intense 160 BPM

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

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Gimme Gimme Gimme — Black Flag intense 160 BPM

A 96% feel-match — carries the same aggressive pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (100/100).

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Nervous Breakdown — Black Flag intense 190 BPM

91% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (100/100). Same harsh texture.

…and if you want it calmer

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

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Christmas Vacation — The Descendents moderate 180 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8. Intensity 54/100, down from 100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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Coffee Mug — The Descendents moderate 180 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8, so it lands at 54/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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Through Being Cool — Devo moderate 120 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it trades the harsher texture for something layered. Reads 60/100.

Jonathan Fisk by Spoon
Jonathan Fisk — Spoon moderate 120 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8. 46/100, versus the original's 100.

Push Ups by Drake
Push Ups — Drake moderate 146 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8. Intensity 51/100, down from 100.

Summer Sixteen by Drake
Summer Sixteen — Drake moderate 108 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8, so it lands at 48/100 — the pull without the edge.

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Year One — X moderate 130 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8. Reads 50/100.

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Instant Hit — The Slits moderate 120 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8. 49/100, versus the original's 100.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Red Tape” by Circle Jerks?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Police Story” by Black Flag, “Small Man Big Mouth” by Minor Threat, “Damaged I” by Black Flag — 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 “Red Tape” but calmer?

“Christmas Vacation” by The Descendents, “Coffee Mug” by The Descendents, “Through Being Cool” by Devo keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Red Tape”?

It measures 100/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 8/10, harsh texture, frequent sudden shifts, and screaming. Tempo is 180 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 100% of the 19,209 songs we've measured. Its intensity reading of 100/100 comes from a dynamic range of 8/10, harsh texture, frequent shifts, and screaming. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is blazing intensity: more extreme on that axis than 100% 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
Focus0/10
Workout7/10
Dinner2/10
Party / hype10/10

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

1980 in context

The 257 songs we’ve measured from 1980 average a dynamic range of 6.3/10. At 8/10, 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

Intensity100
Dynamics78
Tempo78
Surprise75
Density85
Predictability100
Vocal force100
Trigger load50

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

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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