"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "Near Wild Heaven" by R.E.M.. Modest rise and fall. balanced composition. Mood: dreamy, nostalgic, warm. 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."
Deep calm, gentler than 91% of our 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for focus.
120
BPM
Near Wild Heaven by R.E.M. is 120 BPM — Allegro (fast).
Half-time 60 BPM · Double-time 240 BPM · released 1991
Fan image for "Near Wild Heaven"
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: Dreamy pop with chiming, shiny guitars and ringing arpeggios creates a warm, nostalgic atmosphere without harsh or abrupt elements. Smooth production and harmonious layers evoke a gentle, Byrds-inspired jangle that's easy on the senses.
Misophonia Triggers
Recommended for: deep listening focus relaxation
A dreamy pop song with chiming guitars and lead vocals by bassist Mike Mills, serving as an homage to The Byrds on R.E.M.'s moody, folky album Out of Time.
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Moods: dreamy, nostalgic, warm
Traditions: alternative rock, jangle pop
At a glance
"Near Wild Heaven" by R.E.M.
120 BPM, dynamic range 4/10, smooth texture, soft vocals. Sits in the middle band — neither built for stillness nor pitched at workout intensity. Whether it works for a given moment depends more on mood and lyrical content than on the acoustic profile. The full sensory breakdown follows.
How this song sits on each sensory axis
A dynamic range of 4/10 is within the normal pop-mix band. There is variation between verse and chorus, but it's the kind of variation most listeners encounter routinely.
Sudden changes: none. Transitions are musically signaled — nothing will surprise you if you're only half-listening.
Texture: smooth.
Predictability is high — the song telegraphs what it will do next. A sensory-sensitive listener can usually guess where it's going without close attention.
Vocal style: soft vocals.
Where this sits in R.E.M.'s catalog
We have 89 songs from R.E.M. in the library. Of those, 28 are rated Safe, 52 Moderate, and 9 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 4/10 sits below the artist average of 5.7, making it the #68 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
Other tracks from Out of Time
We have 10 songs from this album. Overall, the album leans moderate in sensory profile.
- Losing My Religion — moderate DR 6
- Shiny Happy People — safe DR 6
- Country Feedback — moderate DR 4
- Half a World Away — safe DR 5
- Texarkana — moderate DR 6
- Me in Honey — safe DR 6
- Radio Song — moderate DR 6
- Belong — moderate DR 6
- Endgame — safe DR 3
1991 context
Released in 1991. We have 266 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.8/10. This track is quieter / less dynamic than the year average. Explore more from the 1990s.
Explore by mood and tradition
Guides that may help
Why Post-Rock Works for Focus — The Logic of Slow Builds
Why post-rock holds attention that slides off everything else: long builds, few sudden changes, and …
How to Build the Perfect Focus Playlist for Work — A Sensory-Rated Approach
How to Build the Perfect Focus Playlist for Work — A Sensory-Rated Approach — A guide for sensory-se…
Why Video Game Soundtracks Are Perfect for Focus and Study
Why Video Game Soundtracks Are Perfect for Focus and Study — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners…
How fast is "Near Wild Heaven"?
120 BPM — Upbeat (dance-pop / running warm-up)
For running
Slow jog or recovery run pace. Matches a 120-140 stride-per-minute cadence.
For workouts
Steady cardio, power walking, light weights.
For daily life
Driving, getting ready in the morning, light party.
Browse more songs at 120 BPM.
When "Near Wild Heaven" works, and when it doesn't
Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.
~
Focus / studying
Maybe — fine for routine work, but the mid-song changes may pull attention during deep focus.
✓
Running / workout
Yes — 120 BPM sits squarely in the running / cardio band. Matches natural stride cadence.
~
Sleep / winding down
Maybe — calm overall, but tempo is a bit high for deep sleep. Better for winding down than falling asleep.
✓
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
Not really — it's pleasant but doesn't hit hard enough for cathartic listening.
Related reading
Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.
Why Post-Rock Works for Focus — The Logic of Slow Builds
Why post-rock holds attention that slides off everything else: long builds, few sudden changes, and enough happening to occupy the part of y…
The counterintuitive reason some heavy metal is safer than a Taylor Swift album
Not all loud music is unsafe. Not all quiet music is safe. How doom metal, drone, and sludge rock score better for sensory sensitivity than …
Nick Cave's albums ranked by emotional darkness — which one is your nervous system ready for?
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds made some of the most devastating music in rock history. But not all darkness is the same. This guide ranks his …
Why this rating
We rate this song Safe because its dynamic range stays within our low-variance band, there are no unsignaled changes, and the texture and vocal style are both in the low-fatigue range. Our methodology uses an AND rule for Safe — a song has to clear every dimension to earn the rating.
This song in the Music Studio
19/100 intensity
See how “Near Wild Heaven” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
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For focused listening
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Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-13. 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
This sits near the calm end of everything we've measured — gentler than 91% of the 19,209 songs in the library. Its intensity reading of 19/100 comes from a dynamic range of 4/10, smooth texture, no sudden 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 an unusually steady, even volume: more extreme on that axis than 97% 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
Why Worry — Dire Straits · 99%California — Joni Mitchell · 99%Let Her Go — Mac DeMarco · 99%Let My Baby Stay — Mac DeMarco · 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
Sleep9/10
Focus10/10
Workout4/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype3/10
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
1991 in context
The 266 songs we’ve measured from 1991 average a dynamic range of 6.8/10. At 4/10, this track is gentler and steadier than its year.
Mixes smoothly with
Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.
The fingerprint
Intensity19
Dynamics33
Tempo44
Surprise0
Density0
Predictability0
Vocal force25
Trigger load0
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "Near Wild Heaven"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "Near Wild Heaven" by R.E.M.?
"Near Wild Heaven" by R.E.M. has a tempo of 120 BPM (Allegro (fast)). At half-time that is 60 BPM, and at double-time 240 BPM.
What is the sensory intensity of "Near Wild Heaven" by R.E.M.?
"Near Wild Heaven" by R.E.M. rates as Low-Intensity. Dynamic range 4/10, no sudden changes, smooth texture. Our Low-Intensity rating means no single dimension triggers the higher-intensity thresholds.
How loud is "Near Wild Heaven" — what is its dynamic range?
"Near Wild Heaven" has a dynamic range of 4/10. Within normal pop-mix variation. Movement between verse and chorus but nothing dramatic.
Does "Near Wild Heaven" have sudden or surprising changes?
No. "Near Wild Heaven" has no sudden unsignaled changes. Every transition is musically telegraphed.
What is "Near Wild Heaven" best for?
In our library "Near Wild Heaven" is recommended for: deep listening, focus, relaxation. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "Near Wild Heaven" released?
"Near Wild Heaven" is from 1991, on the album "Out of Time". It appears in our 1990s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "Near Wild Heaven"?
We tag "Near Wild Heaven" as dreamy, nostalgic, warm. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "Near Wild Heaven"?
The vocal style is soft vocals.
Is "Near Wild Heaven" good for running?
Yes — at 120 BPM it sits in the running-cadence band (120-180 BPM). Match your stride to the beat and it keeps pace with most recreational runners.
Is "Near Wild Heaven" good for studying?
Yes — low dynamic range (4/10) and no sudden changes means the song stays in the background without pulling focus.
Can I use "Near Wild Heaven" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Dynamic range is too high — quiet moments will be ambushed by louder ones.
Should I listen to "Near Wild Heaven"?
If you want gentle, low-arousal music, "Near Wild Heaven" is a solid pick — Low-Intensity across every sensory dimension.
Songs with the same DNA
smooth texture, similar intensity — across any genre or era.
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.