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10 songs that feel like Giving Up the Gun

Matched to Giving Up the Gun by Vampire Weekend on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

Giving Up the Gun
The song you love
Giving Up the Gun
Vampire Weekend
moderate 51/100 intensity 145 BPM
Fireside — Arctic Monkeys moderate 138 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (51/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (138 BPM).

Hole in My Life — The Police moderate 135 BPM

98% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (50/100). Same layered texture.

Mathilda — Jerry Lee Lewis moderate 145 BPM

Keeps the same melancholy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (51/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (145 BPM).

Mother's Little Helper — The Rolling Stones moderate 146 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (51/100). Same layered texture.

Jumping Someone Else's Train — The Cure moderate 142 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (51/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (142 BPM).

Bad Day — R.E.M. moderate 148 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (52/100). Same layered texture.

Low — SZA moderate 140 BPM

Keeps the same melancholy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (51/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (140 BPM).

Edit the Sad Parts — Modest Mouse moderate 140 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (51/100). Same layered texture.

Strawberry Blond — Mitski moderate 140 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (51/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (140 BPM).

Crazy Arms — Jerry Lee Lewis moderate 140 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (51/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when Giving Up the Gun is more than you want right now.

It's Too Late by Carole King
It's Too Late — Carole King safe 126 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 24/100, down from 51.

Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 23/100 — the pull without the edge.

Oh Daddy by Fleetwood Mac
Oh Daddy — Fleetwood Mac safe 120 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 23/100.

Both Sides, Now by Joni Mitchell
Both Sides, Now — Joni Mitchell safe 82 BPM

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 27/100, versus the original's 51.

Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding
Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay — Otis Redding safe 88 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 20/100, down from 51.

Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan
Blowin' in the Wind — Bob Dylan safe 80 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 3 where the original climbs to 6, so it lands at 12/100 — the pull without the edge.

If I Were a Boy by Beyoncé
If I Were a Boy — Beyoncé safe 92 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 28/100.

Merry Go 'Round by Kacey Musgraves
Merry Go 'Round — Kacey Musgraves safe 85 BPM

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 27/100, versus the original's 51.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Giving Up the Gun” by Vampire Weekend?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Fireside” by Arctic Monkeys, “Hole in My Life” by The Police, “Mathilda” by Jerry Lee Lewis — the top match scores 99% 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 “Giving Up the Gun” but calmer?

“It's Too Late” by Carole King, “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” by The Smiths, “Oh Daddy” by Fleetwood Mac keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Giving Up the Gun”?

It measures 51/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 145 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 66% of songs, calmer than the other 34%. Its intensity reading of 51/100 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 94% 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

Sleep3/10
Focus7/10
Workout6/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype6/10

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

2010 in context

The 254 songs we’ve measured from 2010 average a dynamic range of 6.5/10. 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

Intensity51
Dynamics56
Tempo58
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force75
Trigger load13

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

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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