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10 songs that feel like Paint Me Down

Matched to Paint Me Down by Spandau Ballet on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

Paint Me Down
The song you love
Paint Me Down
Spandau Ballet
moderate 49/100 intensity 120 BPM
Mothers Talk — Tears for Fears moderate 120 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same energetic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

Big Casino — Jimmy Eat World moderate 120 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Same layered texture.

Splat Out of Luck — Jimmy Eat World moderate 120 BPM

Keeps the same energetic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

Oh L'Amour — Erasure moderate 120 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Same layered texture.

Mirror Man — The Human League moderate 120 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same energetic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

The War Song — Culture Club moderate 120 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Same layered texture.

Black Money — Culture Club moderate 120 BPM

Keeps the same energetic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

Disneyland — Frankie Goes to Hollywood moderate 120 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Same layered texture.

Junk — Bronski Beat moderate 120 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same energetic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

Reap the Wild Wind — Ultravox moderate 120 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (49/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

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

Concerto for 4 Violins in B Minor, Op. 3 No. 10, RV 580 by Antonio Vivaldi

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it stays in our safe band start to finish. Intensity 39/100, down from 49. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Concerto in E-flat "Dumbarton Oaks" — Igor Stravinsky safe 120 BPM

It stays in our safe band start to finish, so it lands at 35/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Computer Love by Kraftwerk
Computer Love — Kraftwerk safe 110 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. Reads 19/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Walking on the Milky Way — Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark safe 118 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 33/100, versus the original's 49. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Talking Loud and Clear — Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark safe 118 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. Intensity 19/100, down from 49. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 24/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

I Wanna Dance with Somebody by Whitney Houston
I Wanna Dance with Somebody — Whitney Houston safe 119 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 40/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

The Less I Know the Better by Tame Impala
The Less I Know the Better — Tame Impala safe 116 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 29/100, versus the original's 49. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Paint Me Down” by Spandau Ballet?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Mothers Talk” by Tears for Fears, “Big Casino” by Jimmy Eat World, “Splat Out of Luck” by Jimmy Eat World — 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 “Paint Me Down” but calmer?

“Concerto for 4 Violins in B Minor, Op. 3 No. 10, RV 580” by Antonio Vivaldi, “Concerto in E-flat "Dumbarton Oaks"” by Igor Stravinsky, “Computer Love” by Kraftwerk keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Paint Me Down”?

It measures 49/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 120 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 55% of songs, calmer than the other 45%. Its intensity reading of 49/100 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 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
Focus7/10
Workout6/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype5/10

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

1981 in context

The 194 songs we’ve measured from 1981 average a dynamic range of 6.4/10. 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

Intensity49
Dynamics56
Tempo44
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force75
Trigger load25

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

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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