"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "This Is Not America" by David Bowie. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. dense layered composition, atmospheric complexity. Mood: contemplative, melancholy. Visual style: 1980s editorial aesthetic, neon accents against moody ground. Painterly, grainy film texture, muted palette with strategic accent colors. The composition should read left-to-right like a timeline — calm on one side, intensifying toward the other. Strictly no faces, no text, no logos, no literal objects, no band imagery. Pure color-field abstraction with emotional weight. 16:9 editorial format."
This Is Not America
David Bowie
The Falcon and the Snowman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1985)
Balanced energy, right in the middle of 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for focus.
116
BPM
This Is Not America by David Bowie is 116 BPM — Moderato (moderate).
Half-time 58 BPM · Double-time 232 BPM · released 1985
Fan image for "This Is Not America"
An abstract illustration of what this song feels like. Each image is built from a prompt — the text description fed to the image generator. Listeners submit their own prompts, upvote the ones that fit best, and the top-voted prompt drives the next regeneration. After 100 image votes, we make a new picture.
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Song DNA
Notes: Reflective and poignant with a haunting quality.
Recommended for: anxiety relief deep listening
Right in the middle of our energy scale. This one swings widely from quiet to loud with the occasional gentle turn — a busy track with strong, dynamic vocals driving it at a steady, walkable tempo. It’s easy enough to follow without going flat. Across the library, it sits more energetic than 77% of songs, calmer than the rest.
Cultural Context
Critiques American culture in the mid-80s.
Listening Prompt
Reflect on societal expectations.
What to Expect
Maintains a steady pace with a strong message.
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Hear it the way it was made
The right gear changes everything.
Moods: contemplative, melancholy
Volume Warning
"This Is Not America" climbs hard.
Dynamic range 7/10 places this in our upper band. The opening volume that feels comfortable will not be comfortable at the climax. If you are setting this up for a focused listen, anchor your volume to the quietest section, not the loudest. The arc is the point of the song; if you blunt it by riding the volume knob, you lose what makes it work. David Bowie built the dynamic shape on purpose. Plan around it.
How this song sits on each sensory axis
A dynamic range of 7/10 means this song moves. Expect a real volume climb between quiet sections and the loudest part of the arrangement — enough that you may want to set the initial volume below where you'd normally land.
Sudden changes: mild. There are one or two transitions worth knowing about, though they're musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.
Texture: complex.
Predictability is medium — conventional structure overall, with one or two moments that deviate from what you'd expect.
Vocal style: dynamic vocals.
Where this sits in David Bowie's catalog
We have 50 songs from David Bowie in the library. Of those, 5 are rated Safe, 28 Moderate, and 17 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 7/10 sits at the artist average of 7.0, making it the #33 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
1985 context
Released in 1985. We have 186 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.4/10. This track is about average than the year average. Explore more from the 1980s.
Explore by mood and tradition
Guides that may help
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm — A guide for sensory-sensitive li…
How fast is "This Is Not America"?
116 BPM — Upbeat (dance-pop / running warm-up)
For running
Too slow for most running; good for warm-up walks or cool-down.
For workouts
Steady cardio, power walking, light weights.
For daily life
Cooking, casual listening, cleaning, dinner music.
Browse more songs at 116 BPM.
When "This Is Not America" works, and when it doesn't
Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.
✗
Focus / studying
No — too dynamic or too many surprises. Save for active listening.
~
Running / workout
Maybe — at 116 BPM this is more warm-up or cool-down pace than peak-effort running.
✗
Sleep / winding down
No — contains elements that will keep an awake nervous system engaged.
✓
Driving / road trip
Yes — predictable enough for safe driving attention, interesting enough to stay engaged.
✓
Cooking / dinner background
Yes — sits in the background without demanding attention.
✓
Emotional release / catharsis
Yes — this is a song for actively feeling what you came to feel, not for background.
Related reading
Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners on musiciwant.com
The 10 Calmest Albums Ever Recorded — A low-intensity Listening Guide
The 10 Calmest Albums Ever Recorded — A low-intensity Listening Guide — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners on musiciwant.com
Teaching Music Listening to Kids Who Feel Music Strongly: A Gentle Approach
A gentle approach to introducing music to a child who feels it strongly — one who startles at sudden sound, or notices more than everyone el…
Why this rating
We rate this song Moderate because it falls between our Safe and Intense thresholds on at least one dimension. Moderate is the default for most well-produced music that has real arc but no surprise elements. Full rubric: methodology.
This song in the Music Studio
58/100 intensity
See how “This Is Not America” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
Listen on
Spotify and YouTube links go direct to the track when we have the ID; otherwise they search for it. Embed this sensory profile on your site →
Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-05. Reviewed by the Music I Want editorial team against the documented methodology.
Think this rating is wrong? Contact the editor — every message is read and ratings get revised.
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 77% of songs, calmer than the other 23%. Its intensity reading of 58/100 comes from a dynamic range of 7/10, complex texture, mild 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 blazing intensity: more extreme on that axis than 77% 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
Hyperballad — Björk · 99%I Wish You Were Gay — Billie Eilish · 99%Never Be the Same — Camila Cabello · 99%Romance — Blink-182 · 99%
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
Sleep2/10
Focus6/10
Workout4/10
Dinner6/10
Party / hype6/10
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
1985 in context
The 186 songs we’ve measured from 1985 average a dynamic range of 6.4/10. At 7/10, 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
Intensity58
Dynamics67
Tempo42
Surprise25
Density60
Predictability50
Vocal force75
Trigger load0
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "This Is Not America"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "This Is Not America" by David Bowie?
"This Is Not America" by David Bowie has a tempo of 116 BPM (Moderato (moderate)). At half-time that is 58 BPM, and at double-time 232 BPM.
What is the sensory intensity of "This Is Not America" by David Bowie?
"This Is Not America" by David Bowie rates as Moderate intensity. Dynamic range 7/10, mild sudden changes, complex texture. Moderate is the default for well-produced music with real arc but no surprise elements.
How loud is "This Is Not America" — what is its dynamic range?
"This Is Not America" has a dynamic range of 7/10. Noticeable climb from quiet sections to loudest point. Set opening volume slightly lower than your preferred peak.
Does "This Is Not America" have sudden or surprising changes?
"This Is Not America" has mild sudden changes — one or two transitions worth knowing about, but they are musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.
What is "This Is Not America" best for?
In our library "This Is Not America" is recommended for: anxiety relief, deep listening. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "This Is Not America" released?
"This Is Not America" is from 1985, on the album "The Falcon and the Snowman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". It appears in our 1980s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "This Is Not America"?
We tag "This Is Not America" as contemplative, melancholy. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "This Is Not America"?
The vocal style is dynamic vocals.
Is "This Is Not America" good for running?
Not really — at 116 BPM it's below most running cadences. Better for warm-up, cool-down, or walking. Recreational runners typically step at 140-175 BPM.
Is "This Is Not America" good for studying?
Only partially. The song's dynamic range (7/10) means there will be loud moments that break focus during deep work.
Can I use "This Is Not America" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Contains transitions that will wake you up.
Should I listen to "This Is Not America"?
"This Is Not America" is Moderate intensity — fine for most listeners, but with enough dynamic activity that it works best as active listening rather than background.
Songs with the same DNA
complex texture, similar intensity — across any genre or era.
Safer alternatives with a similar feel
These songs share similar moods but with a gentler sensory profile.
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Where to next?
You know how this one feels — now go find the next one.