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10 songs that feel like This Year

Matched to This Year by The Mountain Goats 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
This Year
The Mountain Goats
moderate 47/100 intensity 135 BPM
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Zimbabwe — Bob Marley moderate 126 BPM

A 98% feel-match — carries the same uplifting pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (47/100).

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Real Situation — Bob Marley moderate 124 BPM

98% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (46/100). Same layered texture.

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Exodus — Bob Marley and the Wailers moderate 135 BPM

Keeps the same uplifting pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (47/100). Measured 96% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (135 BPM).

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Chant Down Babylon — Bob Marley & The Wailers moderate 143 BPM

Measures 95% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (48/100). Same layered texture.

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Africa Unite — Bob Marley & The Wailers moderate 125 BPM

A 95% feel-match — carries the same uplifting pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (46/100).

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Casey Jones — Grateful Dead moderate 136 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (47/100). Same layered texture.

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Stop That Train — Bob Marley & The Wailers moderate 133 BPM

Keeps the same rebellious pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (47/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (133 BPM).

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Murder by Numbers — The Police moderate 132 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (47/100). Same layered texture.

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Thorn in My Side — Eurythmics moderate 124 BPM

A 95% feel-match — carries the same rebellious pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (46/100).

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Nonstop — Drake moderate 138 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 This Year is more than you want right now.

Me in Honey by R.E.M.
Me in Honey — R.E.M. safe 110 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it stays in our safe band start to finish. Intensity 45/100, down from 47.

Ramblin' Fever by Merle Haggard
Ramblin' Fever — Merle Haggard safe 115 BPM

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 31/100 — the pull without the edge.

Stop! In the Name of Love by The Supremes
Stop! In the Name of Love — The Supremes safe 121 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 35/100.

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Cornerstone — Arctic Monkeys safe 128 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. 20/100, versus the original's 47. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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Pictures of Me — Elliott Smith safe 120 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. Intensity 24/100, down from 47.

Let Her Go by Mac DeMarco
Let Her Go — Mac DeMarco 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.

Let My Baby Stay by Mac DeMarco
Let My Baby Stay — Mac DeMarco safe 120 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. Reads 19/100.

I Won't Back Down by Tom Petty
I Won't Back Down — Tom Petty safe 100 BPM

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 25/100, versus the original's 47.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “This Year” by The Mountain Goats?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Zimbabwe” by Bob Marley, “Real Situation” by Bob Marley, “Exodus” by Bob Marley and the Wailers — 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 “This Year” but calmer?

“Me in Honey” by R.E.M., “Ramblin' Fever” by Merle Haggard, “Stop! In the Name of Love” by The Supremes keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “This Year”?

It measures 47/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 135 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 49% of songs, calmer than the other 51%. Its intensity reading of 47/100 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 a fast, driving tempo: more extreme on that axis than 89% 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

Sleep4/10
Focus8/10
Workout6/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype5/10

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

2005 in context

The 363 songs we’ve measured from 2005 average a dynamic range of 6.2/10. 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

Intensity47
Dynamics56
Tempo53
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability0
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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