"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "Freaking Out the Neighborhood" by Mac DeMarco. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. layered composition, overlapping color planes. Mood: contemplative, introspective, serene. Visual style: contemporary editorial aesthetic. 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
Freaking Out the Neighborhood by Mac DeMarco is 120 BPM — Allegro (fast).
Half-time 60 BPM · Double-time 240 BPM · released 2012
Fan image for "Freaking Out the Neighborhood"
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 laid-back, jangly guitar sound with soft, airy vocals that create a relaxed atmosphere. The layered instrumentation adds depth without overwhelming the listener.
Misophonia Triggers
Recommended for: meditation relaxation study
A mellow indie rock track that explores themes of anxiety and self-reflection through its catchy melodies and relaxed vibe.
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Moods: contemplative, introspective, serene
Traditions: indie rock
At a glance
"Freaking Out the Neighborhood" by Mac DeMarco
120 BPM, dynamic range 6/10, layered texture, soft vocals. Sits in the middle band — neither built for stillness nor pitched at workout intensity. Whether it works for a given moment depends more on mood and lyrical content than on the acoustic profile. The full sensory breakdown follows.
How this song sits on each sensory axis
A dynamic range of 6/10 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: soft vocals.
Where this sits in Mac DeMarco's catalog
We have 41 songs from Mac DeMarco in the library. Of those, 33 are rated Safe, 8 Moderate, and 0 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 6/10 sits above the artist average of 4.2, making it the #2 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
Other tracks from 2
We have 4 songs from this album. Overall, the album leans moderate in sensory profile.
- My Kind of Woman — safe DR 4
- Ode to Viceroy — safe DR 4
- Cooking Up Something Good — moderate DR 5
2012 context
Released in 2012. We have 262 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.5/10. This track is about average than the year average. Explore more from the 2010s.
Explore by mood and tradition
Traditions
indie rock · 1111Guides that may help
Why Video Game Soundtracks Are Perfect for Focus and Study
Why Video Game Soundtracks Are Perfect for Focus and Study — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners…
Music for Focus That Keeps Slipping: What Actually Works
What music properties actually hold a wandering attention? A guide to tempo, texture and sensory rat…
Why lo-fi study beats might be lying to you
Lo-fi hip hop is the default focus soundtrack for millions, but the science is messier than the mark…
How fast is "Freaking Out the Neighborhood"?
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 "Freaking Out the Neighborhood" works, and when it doesn't
Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.
~
Focus / studying
Maybe — fine for routine work, but the mid-song changes may pull attention during deep focus.
✓
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
Not really — it's pleasant but doesn't hit hard enough for cathartic listening.
Related reading
Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.
Why Post-Rock Works for Focus — The Logic of Slow Builds
Why post-rock holds attention that slides off everything else: long builds, few sudden changes, and enough happening to occupy the part of y…
Why Video Game Soundtracks Are Perfect for Focus and Study
Why Video Game Soundtracks Are Perfect for Focus and Study — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners on musiciwant.com
Music for Focus That Keeps Slipping: What Actually Works
What music properties actually hold a wandering attention? A guide to tempo, texture and sensory ratings for finding study and work music th…
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
41/100 intensity
See how “Freaking Out the Neighborhood” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
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For focused listening
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Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-17. 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 35% of songs, calmer than the other 65%. Its intensity reading of 41/100 comes from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and soft 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
Sunday 8pm — Faithless · 99%Found Out — Caribou · 99%Yeti — Caribou · 99%Never Come Back — Caribou · 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
Sleep6/10
Focus10/10
Workout5/10
Dinner8/10
Party / hype5/10
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
2012 in context
The 262 songs we’ve measured from 2012 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
Intensity41
Dynamics56
Tempo44
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force25
Trigger load25
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "Freaking Out the Neighborhood"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "Freaking Out the Neighborhood" by Mac DeMarco?
"Freaking Out the Neighborhood" by Mac DeMarco 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 "Freaking Out the Neighborhood" by Mac DeMarco?
"Freaking Out the Neighborhood" by Mac DeMarco rates as Moderate intensity. Dynamic range 6/10, mild sudden changes, layered texture. Moderate is the default for well-produced music with real arc but no surprise elements.
How loud is "Freaking Out the Neighborhood" — what is its dynamic range?
"Freaking Out the Neighborhood" has a dynamic range of 6/10. Noticeable climb from quiet sections to loudest point. Set opening volume slightly lower than your preferred peak.
Does "Freaking Out the Neighborhood" have sudden or surprising changes?
"Freaking Out the Neighborhood" has mild sudden changes — one or two transitions worth knowing about, but they are musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.
What is "Freaking Out the Neighborhood" best for?
In our library "Freaking Out the Neighborhood" is recommended for: meditation, relaxation, study. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "Freaking Out the Neighborhood" released?
"Freaking Out the Neighborhood" is from 2012, on the album "2". It appears in our 2010s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "Freaking Out the Neighborhood"?
We tag "Freaking Out the Neighborhood" as contemplative, introspective, serene. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "Freaking Out the Neighborhood"?
The vocal style is soft vocals.
Is "Freaking Out the Neighborhood" 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 "Freaking Out the Neighborhood" good for studying?
Only partially. The song's dynamic range (6/10) means there will be loud moments that break focus during deep work.
Can I use "Freaking Out the Neighborhood" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Contains transitions that will wake you up.
Should I listen to "Freaking Out the Neighborhood"?
"Freaking Out the Neighborhood" 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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Where to next?
You know how this one feels — now go find the next one.