Switched on Pop hosts share their favorite tools and everyday habits
Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding, hosts of the long-running music podcast Switched on Pop, discussed their essential tools and routines as the show expands into video on Netflix. The podcast has spent 12 years and nearly 500 episodes breaking down pop songs.
For twelve years, the podcast Switched on Pop has been dissecting pop songs in detail, from music theory to production techniques, hosted by Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding. Produced by New York Magazine's Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network, the show recently expanded into video after nearly 500 episodes, launching on Netflix with guests including Aaron Dessner of The National, Trevor Horn of The Buggles and Yes, and Cypress Hill.
Sloan is a composer and musicology professor at USC's Thornton School of Music, where his research spans pop, jazz, and early American popular song traditions. Harding works as a songwriter, music journalist, and educator.
In a recent interview, the pair shared details about their daily habits and favorite tools. Harding named his Martin D-28 guitar as his most essential tool, while Sloan pointed to the Sibelius notation software and a simple metronome as indispensable. Both admitted an appreciation for fresh vegetables, and Harding's wife suggested he mention his guitar pedal collection as something he's least proud of.
Sloan also recalled a less flattering moment in his career: after he described the Jonas Brothers as "stupefyingly funky" in a New York Times piece, YouTuber Rick Beato publicly criticized him for it. On the other hand, he considers coining the term "pop drop" — used to describe the instrumental postchorus section common in pop songs — among his proudest achievements.
