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10 songs that feel like Lie To Me

Matched to Lie To Me by Tom Waits on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

Lie To Me
The song you love
Lie To Me
Tom Waits
moderate 40/100 intensity 85 BPM
Magic and Loss — Lou Reed moderate 85 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (85 BPM).

Mortal Man — Kendrick Lamar moderate 85 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100). Same layered texture.

Soulsville — Isaac Hayes moderate 82 BPM

Keeps the same introspective pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (82 BPM).

Build God, Then We'll Talk — Panic! At The Disco moderate 90 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100). Same layered texture.

REVOFEV — Kid Cudi moderate 80 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same introspective pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (80 BPM).

Auntie Diaries — Kendrick Lamar moderate 91 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (41/100). Same layered texture.

New York Is Killing Me — Gil Scott-Heron moderate 80 BPM

Keeps the same melancholy pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100). Measured 95% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (80 BPM).

Obvs — Jamie xx moderate 76 BPM

Measures 95% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (39/100). Same layered texture.

Dirty Boulevard — Lou Reed moderate 95 BPM

A 95% feel-match — carries the same melancholy pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (41/100).

Lady Day and John Coltrane — Gil Scott-Heron moderate 85 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

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

Everybody Hurts — R.E.M. safe 75 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 22/100, down from 40. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Thumbing My Way by Pearl Jam
Thumbing My Way — Pearl Jam safe 80 BPM

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

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

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 3 where the original climbs to 6. Reads 12/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot
If You Could Read My Mind — Gordon Lightfoot safe 85 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. 16/100, versus the original's 40. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 28/100, down from 40. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Please, Please, Please by James Brown
Please, Please, Please — James Brown safe 80 BPM

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 32/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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

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

William, It Was Really Nothing by The Smiths
William, It Was Really Nothing — The Smiths safe 92 BPM

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 25/100, versus the original's 40. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Lie To Me” by Tom Waits?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Magic and Loss” by Lou Reed, “Mortal Man” by Kendrick Lamar, “Soulsville” by Isaac Hayes — 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 “Lie To Me” but calmer?

“Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M., “Thumbing My Way” by Pearl Jam, “Blowin' in the Wind” by Bob Dylan keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Lie To Me”?

It measures 40/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and spoken word. Tempo is 85 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 34% of songs, calmer than the other 66%. Its intensity reading of 40/100 comes from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and spoken word. 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 79% 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

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

Sleep4/10
Focus8/10
Workout2/10
Dinner8/10
Party / hype3/10

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

2006 in context

The 252 songs we’ve measured from 2006 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

Intensity40
Dynamics56
Tempo25
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force40
Trigger load0

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

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