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10 songs that feel like St. Stephen

Matched to St. Stephen by Grateful Dead 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
St. Stephen
Grateful Dead
moderate 66/100 intensity 140 BPM
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Aquemini — OutKast moderate 95 BPM

A 90% feel-match — carries the same transcendent pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (65/100).

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Pneuma — Tool intense 124 BPM

95% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (68/100). Same layered texture.

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Rival Dealer — Burial moderate 130 BPM

Keeps the same transcendent pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (65/100). Measured 95% alike.

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World in My Eyes — Depeche Mode moderate 120 BPM

Measures 93% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (68/100). Same layered texture.

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Land — Patti Smith intense 135 BPM

A 96% feel-match — carries the same transcendent pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (69/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (135 BPM).

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Soup — Can intense 126 BPM

95% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (68/100). Same layered texture.

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Moonage Daydream — David Bowie intense 120 BPM

Keeps the same transcendent pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (68/100). Measured 94% alike.

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She's a Superstar — The Verve intense 120 BPM

Measures 94% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (68/100). Same layered texture.

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Leaving the City — Joanna Newsom moderate 85 BPM

A 88% feel-match — carries the same transcendent pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (61/100).

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Losss — Björk intense 110 BPM

92% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (67/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

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

It's Too Late by Carole King
It's Too Late — Carole King safe 126 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 5 where the original climbs to 7. Intensity 24/100, down from 66.

The Times They Are a-Changin' by Bob Dylan
The Times They Are a-Changin' — Bob Dylan safe 120 BPM

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 27/100 — the pull without the edge.

Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan
Blowin' in the Wind — Bob Dylan safe 80 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 3 where the original climbs to 7. Reads 12/100.

Two Thousand and Seventeen by Four Tet
Two Thousand and Seventeen — Four Tet safe 120 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 5 where the original climbs to 7. 35/100, versus the original's 66.

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Never Going Back Again — Fleetwood Mac safe 130 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 5 where the original climbs to 7. Intensity 24/100, down from 66. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2 by Frédéric Chopin
Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2 — Frédéric Chopin safe 60 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 5 where the original climbs to 7, so it lands at 25/100 — the pull without the edge.

If I Were a Boy by Beyoncé
If I Were a Boy — Beyoncé safe 92 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 28/100.

The Big Ship by Brian Eno
The Big Ship — Brian Eno safe 60 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 3 where the original climbs to 7. 8/100, versus the original's 66.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “St. Stephen” by Grateful Dead?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Aquemini” by OutKast, “Pneuma” by Tool, “Rival Dealer” by Burial — the top match scores 90% 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 “St. Stephen” but calmer?

“It's Too Late” by Carole King, “The Times They Are a-Changin'” by Bob Dylan, “Blowin' in the Wind” by Bob Dylan keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “St. Stephen”?

It measures 66/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 7/10, layered texture, moderate sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 140 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 87% of the 19,209 songs we've measured. Its intensity reading of 66/100 comes from a dynamic range of 7/10, layered texture, moderate 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 fast, driving tempo: more extreme on that axis than 90% 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
Focus3/10
Workout8/10
Dinner5/10
Party / hype7/10

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

1969 in context

The 222 songs we’ve measured from 1969 average a dynamic range of 6.3/10. At 7/10, 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

Intensity66
Dynamics67
Tempo56
Surprise50
Density33
Predictability100
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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