The Cure by the Numbers: The Catalog, Measured
By Dan Cohen · Published 2026-06-24
We measured all 65 The Cure songs in our library — tempo, dynamic range, texture, how abruptly each song shifts, how hard the vocal pushes — and rolled it into a single intensity score from 0 to 100. No other site scores a catalog this way. Here is The Cure by the numbers: muscular in the middle — neither sleepy nor relentless, with room at both ends.
The catalog at a glance
- Average intensity: 45/100
- Average dynamic range: 6.0/10
- Average tempo: 115 BPM across 65 timed songs
- One of the widest emotional ranges we've measured for any single artist — a 59-point gap from calmest to most intense.
The calmest The Cure songs
- All Cats Are Grey — intensity 11/100, 70 BPM, dynamic range 3/10
- Sinking — intensity 11/100, 65 BPM, dynamic range 3/10
- 10:15 Saturday Night — intensity 20/100, 128 BPM, dynamic range 4/10
The most intense
- Shake Dog Shake — intensity 70/100, 130 BPM, dynamic range 7/10
- Pornography — intensity 68/100, 120 BPM, dynamic range 8/10
- One Hundred Years — intensity 65/100, 140 BPM, dynamic range 8/10
The biggest quiet-to-loud swings
- Endsong — dynamic range 8/10
- Hot Hot Hot!!! — dynamic range 8/10
- Why Can't I Be You? — dynamic range 8/10
Tempo extremes: slowest is Sinking (65 BPM), fastest is In Between Days (158 BPM).
Every song here has its own measured profile — tempo, dynamics, sonic twins, what it's good for — on its page. Start from the The Cure artist page.
Computed from Music I Want's own measurements of 65 The Cure songs as of 2026-06-24. The intensity score combines dynamic range, tempo, texture, sudden changes, vocal force, and predictability. Figures update as the catalog is refined.