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10 songs that feel like Shaking Hell

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

Shaking Hell
The song you love
Shaking Hell
Sonic Youth
intense 69/100 intensity 140 BPM
Switch — Siouxsie and the Banshees intense 135 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (69/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (135 BPM).

Take Me with You When You Go — Jack White intense 140 BPM

96% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (69/100). Same layered texture.

Undertow — Tool intense 152 BPM

Keeps the same cathartic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (70/100). Measured 98% alike.

Cowgirl in the Sand — Neil Young intense 128 BPM

Measures 98% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (68/100). Same layered texture.

Geyser — Mitski intense 128 BPM

A 98% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (68/100).

Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone — Neutral Milk Hotel intense 140 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (69/100). Same layered texture.

Easy Money — King Crimson intense 126 BPM

Keeps the same cathartic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (68/100). Measured 97% alike.

Pornography — The Cure intense 120 BPM

Measures 94% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (68/100). Same layered texture.

Sue (Or in a Season of Crime) — David Bowie intense 110 BPM

A 94% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (67/100).

Hummer — The Smashing Pumpkins intense 160 BPM

94% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it runs a little hotter at 75/100. Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

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

I've Gotta Get a Message to You — Bee Gees moderate 120 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it measures markedly calmer overall. Intensity 60/100, down from 69.

Romance in Durango by Bob Dylan
Romance in Durango — Bob Dylan moderate 120 BPM

It measures markedly calmer overall, so it lands at 60/100 — the pull without the edge.

Do Me a Favour — Arctic Monkeys moderate 120 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it measures markedly calmer overall. Reads 60/100.

I Don't Want to Know by Fleetwood Mac
I Don't Want to Know — Fleetwood Mac moderate 120 BPM

Holds the same feel while it measures markedly calmer overall. 60/100, versus the original's 69.

Prelude in C Sharp Minor, Op. 3 No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Prelude in C Sharp Minor, Op. 3 No. 2 — Sergei Rachmaninoff moderate 66 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it measures markedly calmer overall. Intensity 38/100, down from 69.

Red Rain by Peter Gabriel
Red Rain — Peter Gabriel moderate 83 BPM

It measures markedly calmer overall, so it lands at 50/100 — the pull without the edge.

Long Time Gone by Crosby, Stills & Nash
Long Time Gone — Crosby, Stills & Nash moderate 92 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it measures markedly calmer overall. Reads 50/100.

Loser — Grateful Dead moderate 95 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8. 47/100, versus the original's 69.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Shaking Hell” by Sonic Youth?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Switch” by Siouxsie and the Banshees, “Take Me with You When You Go” by Jack White, “Undertow” by Tool — 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 “Shaking Hell” but calmer?

“I've Gotta Get a Message to You” by Bee Gees, “Romance in Durango” by Bob Dylan, “Do Me a Favour” by Arctic Monkeys keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Shaking Hell”?

It measures 69/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 8/10, layered texture, moderate sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 140 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 89% of the 19,209 songs we've measured. Its intensity reading of 69/100 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 a fast, driving tempo: more extreme on that axis than 90% 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
Workout8/10
Dinner5/10
Party / hype7/10

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

1983 in context

The 242 songs we’ve measured from 1983 average a dynamic range of 6.5/10. 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

Intensity69
Dynamics78
Tempo56
Surprise50
Density33
Predictability100
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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