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10 songs that feel like Animals

Matched to Animals by Talking Heads on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

Animals
The song you love
Animals
Talking Heads
intense 67/100 intensity 110 BPM
A Wolf at the Door — Radiohead intense 140 BPM

A 86% feel-match — carries the same anxious pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (63/100).

Also Frightened — Animal Collective moderate 110 BPM

90% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (63/100). Same layered texture.

FEEL. — Kendrick Lamar intense 95 BPM

Keeps the same intense pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (65/100). Measured 97% alike.

No Future Shock — TV on the Radio moderate 120 BPM

Measures 94% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (64/100). Same layered texture.

Everybody's Happy Nowadays — Buzzcocks moderate 120 BPM

A 86% feel-match — carries the same anxious pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (64/100).

There Goes a Tenner — Kate Bush moderate 110 BPM

78% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it sits a little calmer at 55/100. Same layered texture.

Aladdin Sane — David Bowie intense 120 BPM

Keeps the same anxious pull — runs a little hotter at 83/100. Measured 83% alike.

Discombobulated — Eminem intense 95 BPM

Measures 90% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (71/100).

Birthday Pony — Fugazi moderate 95 BPM

A 90% feel-match — carries the same playful pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (62/100).

Who Could Win a Rabbit — Animal Collective moderate 120 BPM

94% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (64/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

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

Praying Hands by Devo
Praying Hands — Devo moderate 110 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8. Intensity 48/100, down from 67. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Peek-A-Boo! by Devo
Peek-A-Boo! — Devo moderate 120 BPM

It eases off just enough to take the edge off, so it lands at 60/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Rescue by Echo and the Bunnymen
Rescue — Echo and the Bunnymen moderate 95 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it measures markedly calmer overall. Reads 58/100.

Girlfriend Is Better by Talking Heads
Girlfriend Is Better — Talking Heads moderate 115 BPM

Holds the same feel while it eases off just enough to take the edge off. 76/100, versus the original's 67. Nearly the same tempo, too.

There Goes a Tenner by Kate Bush
There Goes a Tenner — Kate Bush moderate 110 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8. Intensity 55/100, down from 67. Nearly the same tempo, too.

De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da by The Police
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da — The Police safe 120 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8, so it lands at 41/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Working in the Coal Mine by Devo
Working in the Coal Mine — Devo moderate 120 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it eases off just enough to take the edge off. Reads 60/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Total Entertainment Forever — Father John Misty moderate 112 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8. 48/100, versus the original's 67. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Animals” by Talking Heads?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “A Wolf at the Door” by Radiohead, “Also Frightened” by Animal Collective, “FEEL.” by Kendrick Lamar — the top match scores 86% 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 “Animals” but calmer?

“Praying Hands” by Devo, “Peek-A-Boo!” by Devo, “Rescue” by Echo and the Bunnymen keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Animals”?

It measures 67/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 8/10, layered texture, moderate sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 110 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 67/100 comes from a dynamic range of 8/10, 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 blazing intensity: more extreme on that axis than 87% 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
Focus2/10
Workout5/10
Dinner5/10
Party / hype7/10

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

1979 in context

The 245 songs we’ve measured from 1979 average a dynamic range of 6.4/10. At 8/10, 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

Intensity67
Dynamics78
Tempo39
Surprise50
Density33
Predictability100
Vocal force75
Trigger load63

The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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