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10 songs that feel like The Musical Box

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

The Musical Box
The song you love
The Musical Box
Genesis
intense 71/100 intensity 120 BPM
Jungleland — Bruce Springsteen intense 120 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (71/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

Pornography — The Cure intense 120 BPM

96% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (68/100). Same layered texture.

I Don't Live Today — The Jimi Hendrix Experience intense 115 BPM

Keeps the same cathartic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (71/100). Measured 95% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (115 BPM).

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

Measures 94% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (69/100). 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).

Brennisteinn — Sigur Rós intense 120 BPM

96% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (71/100). Same layered texture.

Ænima — Tool intense 118 BPM

Keeps the same cathartic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (71/100). Measured 96% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (118 BPM).

The Shrine / An Argument — Fleet Foxes intense 85 BPM

Measures 93% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (68/100). Same layered texture.

Cruel — Tori Amos intense 110 BPM

A 95% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (67/100).

Shaking Hell — Sonic Youth intense 140 BPM

93% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (69/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when The Musical Box 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 its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. Intensity 60/100, down from 71. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9, so it lands at 60/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Disintegration by The Cure
Disintegration — The Cure moderate 106 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. Reads 59/100.

Do Me a Favour — Arctic Monkeys moderate 120 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. 60/100, versus the original's 71. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. Intensity 60/100, down from 71. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9, so it lands at 50/100 — the pull without the edge.

Loser — Grateful Dead moderate 95 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 9. Reads 47/100.

Meat Is Murder by The Smiths
Meat Is Murder — The Smiths moderate 95 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 9. 58/100, versus the original's 71.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “The Musical Box” by Genesis?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Jungleland” by Bruce Springsteen, “Pornography” by The Cure, “I Don't Live Today” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience — 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 “The Musical Box” but calmer?

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

How intense is “The Musical Box”?

It measures 71/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 9/10, layered texture, moderate 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

This is one of the more intense things in our library — more energetic than 90% of the 19,209 songs we've measured. Its intensity reading of 71/100 comes from a dynamic range of 9/10, 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 huge quiet-to-loud swing: more extreme on that axis than 96% 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.

1971 in context

The 257 songs we’ve measured from 1971 average a dynamic range of 6.2/10. At 9/10, 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

Intensity71
Dynamics89
Tempo44
Surprise50
Density33
Predictability100
Vocal force75
Trigger load0

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

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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