"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "Karma Police" by Radiohead. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. layered composition, overlapping color planes. Mood: cathartic, melancholy. Visual style: early-1990s alternative aesthetic, weathered film grain. 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."
Karma Police
Radiohead
OK Computer (1997)
Balanced energy, right in the middle of 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for focus.
77
BPM
Karma Police by Radiohead is 77 BPM — Andante (walking pace).
Half-time 39 BPM · Double-time 154 BPM · released 1997
Fan image for "Karma Police"
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Song DNA
Notes: Melodic with a plaintive quality.
Recommended for: deep listening emotional release
Middle of the road on intensity, in the best way. It’s easy enough to follow without going flat. This one has a big quiet-to-loud range with just a little movement, layered in texture, with a light, easy vocal at an unhurried mid-tempo. Across the library, it sits more energetic than 35% of songs, calmer than the rest.
Cultural Context
Echoes a sense of moral reckoning.
Listening Prompt
Consider the impact of your actions on others.
What to Expect
Slow and measured at 77 BPM, this 1997 Radiohead track carries a sensory profile that suits the deep listening and emotional release recommendations. Dynamic range is 7 — moderately wide, so set volume with the louder passages in mind — but sudden changes are rated mild, which tempers how those range swings arrive. Texture is layered and predictability is medium. Vocals are classified as soft, a meaningful marker in a track with a 7-rated dynamic range; it suggests the range doesn't come primarily from vocal force. The moderate sensory level positions this as an engaged but not overwhelming listening experience. Misophonia trigger data is not available. The cathartic and melancholy mood ratings, combined with a slow tempo and soft vocals, make this suitable for intentional, quiet listening sessions — when you need something with emotional weight that doesn't demand physical engagement. The mild sudden-change rating and medium predictability mean there's enough movement to hold attention without requiring the active readiness that high-change tracks demand.
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Hear it the way it was made
The right gear changes everything.
Moods: cathartic, melancholy
Volume Warning
"Karma Police" 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. Radiohead 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 is layered — a full arrangement with clear separation between parts.
Predictability is medium — conventional structure overall, with one or two moments that deviate from what you'd expect.
Vocal style: soft vocals.
Where this sits in Radiohead's catalog
We have 78 songs from Radiohead in the library. Of those, 7 are rated Safe, 55 Moderate, and 16 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 7/10 sits above the artist average of 6.6, making it the #20 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
Other tracks from OK Computer
We have 11 songs from this album. Overall, the album leans moderate in sensory profile.
- Paranoid Android — intense DR 9
- No Surprises — moderate DR 6
- Exit Music (For a Film) — moderate DR 7
- Let Down — moderate DR 7
- Lucky — moderate DR 7
- The Tourist — moderate DR 7
- Climbing Up the Walls — intense DR 8
- Subterranean Homesick Alien — moderate DR 6
- Airbag — moderate DR 7
- Electioneering — intense DR 8
1997 context
Released in 1997. We have 389 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.6/10. This track is about average than the year average. Explore more from the 1990s.
Explore by mood and tradition
How fast is "Karma Police"?
77 BPM — Slow (downtempo / ballad)
For running
Too slow for most running; good for warm-up walks or cool-down.
For workouts
Warm-up, cool-down, yoga, stretching.
For daily life
Sleep, meditation, reading, focus work.
Browse more songs at 77 BPM.
When "Karma Police" 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
No — 77 BPM is too slow for sustained cardio.
✗
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.
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I Listened to Every Radiohead Album Through a Sensory Lens — Here's What I Found
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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
41/100 intensity
See how “Karma Police” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
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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: 2026-06-20. 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 35% of songs, calmer than the other 65%. Its intensity reading of 41/100 comes from a dynamic range of 7/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and soft 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 slow, unhurried pace: more extreme on that axis than 86% 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
Simple Twist of Fate — Bob Dylan · 99%Change (In the House of Flies) — Deftones · 99%Firth of Fifth — Genesis · 99%Lovely — Billie Eilish & Khalid · 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
Sleep5/10
Focus10/10
Workout2/10
Dinner8/10
Party / hype3/10
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
1997 in context
The 389 songs we’ve measured from 1997 average a dynamic range of 6.6/10. 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
Intensity41
Dynamics67
Tempo21
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force25
Trigger load0
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "Karma Police"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "Karma Police" by Radiohead?
"Karma Police" by Radiohead has a tempo of 77 BPM (Andante (walking pace)). At half-time that is 39 BPM, and at double-time 154 BPM.
What is the sensory intensity of "Karma Police" by Radiohead?
"Karma Police" by Radiohead rates as Moderate intensity. Dynamic range 7/10, mild sudden changes, layered texture. Moderate is the default for well-produced music with real arc but no surprise elements.
How loud is "Karma Police" — what is its dynamic range?
"Karma Police" 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 "Karma Police" have sudden or surprising changes?
"Karma Police" has mild sudden changes — one or two transitions worth knowing about, but they are musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.
What is "Karma Police" best for?
In our library "Karma Police" is recommended for: deep listening, emotional release. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "Karma Police" released?
"Karma Police" is from 1997, on the album "OK Computer". It appears in our 1990s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "Karma Police"?
We tag "Karma Police" as cathartic, melancholy. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "Karma Police"?
The vocal style is soft vocals.
Is "Karma Police" good for running?
Not really — at 77 BPM it's below most running cadences. Better for warm-up, cool-down, or walking. Recreational runners typically step at 140-175 BPM.
Is "Karma Police" 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 "Karma Police" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Contains transitions that will wake you up.
Should I listen to "Karma Police"?
"Karma Police" 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
layered 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.
What this song means to people
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Where to next?
You know how this one feels — now go find the next one.