TempoPeek

R.E.M. · Document

It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)

It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine) is in G major at 102.8 beats per minute.

4080120160200

Tempo

103 BPM · Andantemedian of 237 analyses · 102.7–102.9 across the middle eight tenths
Key
G major1 sharp · the key most of the analyses agreed on
Agreement
98%share of analyses that agreed
Analyses
237people who ran the extractor
One beat
583.7milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
Tuning
441.3Hz · +5 cents from A 440
Dynamics
2.51dB the level wanders from its average
Loudness
0.964Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
Danceability
1.35Essentia's danceability, 0–3

Source: AcousticBrainz, dump of 2022-06-23 (CC0) · MusicBrainz core data, 2026-09-17 (CC0) · how each number is measured. Measured up to 23.06.2022 — AcousticBrainz stopped collecting in 2022, so nothing released after that date is here.

What the numbers say

237 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. All but a handful of them — 98% — put it in G major, a key signature of 1 sharp. The tempo printed above is the median of the 237 readings; 100% of them land within 2% of it, and they barely differ at all.

At 102.8 BPM one beat lasts 583.7 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 145.9 ms and a dotted eighth 437.7 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 51.4 BPM, counted twice as fast 205.6. A score would mark that Andante, by the ranges this site uses.

The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 441.3 Hz, which is 5 cents above concert A at 440 Hz — the sort of drift a tape machine or a slightly different mastering leaves behind. That is a fact about this transfer of the music, not about how it was played.

The dynamic complexity of the recording measures 2.51 dB: that is how far the level wanders from its own average, so a small number means a loud, flat master and a large one means a recording that still breathes. Its average loudness is 0.964 on Essentia's 0-to-1 scale, which is not decibels and is not comparable to a streaming service's number.

10 other recordings here are in G major; the ones listed below are the closest in tempo.

Beats per bar are not in this dataset. AcousticBrainz's analysis reports a tempo, a key and a loudness, and no time signature at all, so this page does not print one — a 4/4 here would be a guess dressed as a measurement.

Keys that fit with G major

Each of these differs from G major by at most one accidental, or shares its tonic. That is the whole of what a mixing wheel encodes; here the relations are named instead of numbered.

Delay times at 103 BPM

Note valueBeatsMillisecondsHertz
Whole note42334.60.43
Half note21167.30.86
Dotted quarter1.5875.51.14
Quarter note (one beat)1583.71.71
Quarter triplet0.667389.12.57
Dotted eighth0.75437.72.28
Eighth note0.5291.83.43
Eighth triplet0.333194.65.14
Dotted sixteenth0.375218.94.57
Sixteenth note0.25145.96.85
Sixteenth triplet0.16797.310.28
Thirty-second note0.1257313.71

Half time 51.4 BPM · double time 205.6 BPM. Every row is one beat (583.7 ms) times the fraction in the second column.

Closest in key and tempo

  1. MassachusettsBee GeesG major103BPM
  2. All Summer LongKid RockG major103BPM
  3. Fuck Me PumpsAmy WinehouseG major103BPM
  4. Lady JaneThe Rolling StonesG major103BPM
  5. BelongR.E.M.G major103BPM
  6. Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3Pink FloydG major102BPM
  7. (Sittin' on) The Dock of the BayOtis ReddingG major103BPM
  8. Friend of the DevilGrateful DeadG major103BPM
  9. Try a Little TendernessOtis ReddingG major102BPM
  10. Con te partiròAndrea BocelliG major102BPM

Recordings in G major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 103 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.

All songs in G majorAll songs at 103 BPMG major at 100–109 BPMR.E.M.

MusicBrainz collapses 57 recording ids into this one. Recording id 7b35a0dd-eda8-4757-a759-8a4d0a5679dd.