"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "Born Under a Bad Sign" by Cream. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. layered composition, overlapping color planes. Mood: introspective, melancholy. Visual style: 1968 vintage painting aesthetic, warm aged tones. Painterly, grainy film texture, muted palette with strategic accent colors. The composition should read left-to-right like a timeline — calm on one side, intensifying toward the other. Strictly no faces, no text, no logos, no literal objects, no band imagery. Pure color-field abstraction with emotional weight. 16:9 editorial format."
Balanced energy, right in the middle of 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for focus.
120
BPM
Born Under a Bad Sign by Cream is 120 BPM — Allegro (fast).
Half-time 60 BPM · Double-time 240 BPM · released 1968
Fan image for "Born Under a Bad Sign"
An abstract illustration of what this song feels like. Each image is built from a prompt — the text description fed to the image generator. Listeners submit their own prompts, upvote the ones that fit best, and the top-voted prompt drives the next regeneration. After 100 image votes, we make a new picture.
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Song DNA
Notes: The song features a blend of bluesy guitar riffs and powerful vocals, creating a rich auditory experience. The dynamics shift throughout, providing moments of intensity balanced with smoother sections.
Misophonia Triggers
Recommended for: deep listening emotional release
A classic blues rock song that explores themes of fate and misfortune with a powerful vocal delivery and intricate instrumentation.
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Hear it the way it was made
The right gear changes everything.
Moods: introspective, melancholy
Traditions: blues rock
Volume Warning
"Born Under a Bad Sign" climbs hard.
Dynamic range 7/10 places this in our upper band. The opening volume that feels comfortable will not be comfortable at the climax. If you are setting this up for a focused listen, anchor your volume to the quietest section, not the loudest. The arc is the point of the song; if you blunt it by riding the volume knob, you lose what makes it work. Cream built the dynamic shape on purpose. Plan around it.
How this song sits on each sensory axis
A dynamic range of 7/10 means this song moves. Expect a real volume climb between quiet sections and the loudest part of the arrangement — enough that you may want to set the initial volume below where you'd normally land.
Sudden changes: mild. There are one or two transitions worth knowing about, though they're musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.
Texture is layered — a full arrangement with clear separation between parts.
Predictability is medium — conventional structure overall, with one or two moments that deviate from what you'd expect.
Vocal style: dynamic vocals.
Where this sits in Cream's catalog
We have 18 songs from Cream in the library. Of those, 0 are rated Safe, 17 Moderate, and 1 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 7/10 sits above the artist average of 6.7, making it the #9 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
Other tracks from Wheels of Fire
We have 7 songs from this album. Overall, the album leans moderate in sensory profile.
- White Room — moderate DR 8
- Crossroads — intense DR 8
- Sitting on Top of the World — moderate DR 7
- Deserted Cities of the Heart — moderate DR 7
- Those Were the Days — moderate DR 6
- Pressed Rat and Warthog — moderate DR 6
1968 context
Released in 1968. We have 182 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.1/10. This track is about average than the year average. Explore more from the 1960s.
Explore by mood and tradition
Traditions
blues rock · 152How fast is "Born Under a Bad Sign"?
120 BPM — Upbeat (dance-pop / running warm-up)
For running
Slow jog or recovery run pace. Matches a 120-140 stride-per-minute cadence.
For workouts
Steady cardio, power walking, light weights.
For daily life
Driving, getting ready in the morning, light party.
Browse more songs at 120 BPM.
When "Born Under a Bad Sign" works, and when it doesn't
Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.
✗
Focus / studying
No — too dynamic or too many surprises. Save for active listening.
✓
Running / workout
Yes — 120 BPM sits squarely in the running / cardio band. Matches natural stride cadence.
✗
Sleep / winding down
No — contains elements that will keep an awake nervous system engaged.
✓
Driving / road trip
Yes — predictable enough for safe driving attention, interesting enough to stay engaged.
✓
Cooking / dinner background
Yes — sits in the background without demanding attention.
✓
Emotional release / catharsis
Yes — this is a song for actively feeling what you came to feel, not for background.
Related reading
Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.
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Why this rating
We rate this song Moderate because it falls between our Safe and Intense thresholds on at least one dimension. Moderate is the default for most well-produced music that has real arc but no surprise elements. Full rubric: methodology.
This song in the Music Studio
53/100 intensity
See how “Born Under a Bad Sign” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
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Spotify and YouTube links go direct to the track when we have the ID; otherwise they search for it. Embed this sensory profile on your site →
Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-16. Reviewed by the Music I Want editorial team against the documented methodology.
Think this rating is wrong? Contact the editor — every message is read and ratings get revised.
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 69% of songs, calmer than the other 31%. Its intensity reading of 53/100 comes from a dynamic range of 7/10, 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 blazing intensity: more extreme on that axis than 69% 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
Time — Pink Floyd · 99%Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses — U2 · 99%Pink Turns to Blue — Hüsker Dü · 99%Dark Matter — Pearl Jam · 99%
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.
1968 in context
The 182 songs we’ve measured from 1968 average a dynamic range of 6.1/10. At 7/10, 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
Intensity53
Dynamics67
Tempo44
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force75
Trigger load25
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "Born Under a Bad Sign"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "Born Under a Bad Sign" by Cream?
"Born Under a Bad Sign" by Cream has a tempo of 120 BPM (Allegro (fast)). At half-time that is 60 BPM, and at double-time 240 BPM.
What is the sensory intensity of "Born Under a Bad Sign" by Cream?
"Born Under a Bad Sign" by Cream rates as Moderate intensity. Dynamic range 7/10, mild sudden changes, layered texture. Moderate is the default for well-produced music with real arc but no surprise elements.
How loud is "Born Under a Bad Sign" — what is its dynamic range?
"Born Under a Bad Sign" has a dynamic range of 7/10. Noticeable climb from quiet sections to loudest point. Set opening volume slightly lower than your preferred peak.
Does "Born Under a Bad Sign" have sudden or surprising changes?
"Born Under a Bad Sign" has mild sudden changes — one or two transitions worth knowing about, but they are musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.
What is "Born Under a Bad Sign" best for?
In our library "Born Under a Bad Sign" is recommended for: deep listening, emotional release. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "Born Under a Bad Sign" released?
"Born Under a Bad Sign" is from 1968, on the album "Wheels of Fire". It appears in our 1960s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "Born Under a Bad Sign"?
We tag "Born Under a Bad Sign" as introspective, melancholy. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "Born Under a Bad Sign"?
The vocal style is dynamic vocals.
Is "Born Under a Bad Sign" good for running?
Yes — at 120 BPM it sits in the running-cadence band (120-180 BPM). Match your stride to the beat and it keeps pace with most recreational runners.
Is "Born Under a Bad Sign" good for studying?
Only partially. The song's dynamic range (7/10) means there will be loud moments that break focus during deep work.
Can I use "Born Under a Bad Sign" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Contains transitions that will wake you up.
Should I listen to "Born Under a Bad Sign"?
"Born Under a Bad Sign" is Moderate intensity — fine for most listeners, but with enough dynamic activity that it works best as active listening rather than background.
Songs with the same DNA
layered texture, similar intensity — across any genre or era.
Safer alternatives with a similar feel
These songs share similar moods but with a gentler sensory profile.
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