Switched on Pop’s Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding love fresh vegetables and guitar pedals
Switched on Pop’s Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding love fresh vegetables and guitar pedals
《Switched on Pop》的 Nate Sloan 和 Charlie Harding 热爱新鲜蔬菜与吉他效果器
The duo recently brought their deep dives on the art of pop music to Netflix. 这对组合最近将他们对流行音乐艺术的深度剖析带到了 Netflix。
As if you needed more reason to love Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” beyond its pop perfection, it is also, according to lore, the genesis for Switched on Pop, one of the best music podcasts out there. Cohosts Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding obsessively dissect pop songs, from the theory behind their musical choices to their production techniques. If you’re a student of pop music, then this is a must-listen podcast. 除了 Carly Rae Jepsen 的《Call Me Maybe》本身所具备的流行完美度之外，如果你还需要更多爱它的理由，那么据传，它还是目前最棒的音乐播客之一《Switched on Pop》的起源。联合主持人 Nate Sloan 和 Charlie Harding 会痴迷地剖析流行歌曲，从音乐选择背后的理论到制作技巧，应有尽有。如果你是流行音乐的学习者，那么这个播客绝对不容错过。
Sloan is a composer and professor of musicology at USC Thornton School of Music, where he researches pop, but also jazz and even Tin Pan Alley. Harding is a songwriter, music journalist, and a professor as well. Their combined knowledge is near encyclopedic. Whether they’re talking about text painting in Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” or Taryn Southern’s AI experiments, the two reveal the rich tapestry of even the most simple-seeming songs. Sloan 是一位作曲家，也是南加州大学桑顿音乐学院的音乐学教授，他不仅研究流行音乐，还研究爵士乐甚至廷潘巷（Tin Pan Alley）音乐。Harding 则是一位词曲作者、音乐记者和教授。他们两人的知识储备近乎百科全书。无论是在讨论 Justin Timberlake 的《Can’t Stop the Feeling!》中的“绘词法”（text painting），还是 Taryn Southern 的人工智能实验，他们总能揭示出即使是看似最简单的歌曲背后那丰富的内涵。
Now, after 12 years and nearly 500 episodes, the show recently made the leap to video on Netflix, featuring guests like Aaron Dessner (The National), Trevor Horn (The Buggles, Yes), and Cypress Hill. Sloan and Harding told us about the importance of the metronome, fresh vegetables, and what seems to be a slightly problematic relationship with guitar pedals. 如今，在走过 12 年、录制了近 500 期节目后，该节目最近跃升至 Netflix 推出视频版，嘉宾包括 Aaron Dessner (The National)、Trevor Horn (The Buggles, Yes) 和 Cypress Hill 等。Sloan 和 Harding 向我们讲述了节拍器和新鲜蔬菜的重要性，以及他们与吉他效果器之间似乎有些“问题”的关系。
What is your most indispensable tool? 你最不可或缺的工具是什么？
Charlie Harding: The Martin D-28 is the platonic idea of both what a guitar sounds like and, I’m ashamed to admit how much this matters to me, how a guitar looks. You’ve heard it on “Blackbird,” “Wish You Were Here,” and “Big Yellow Taxi.” I found one from 1970 sitting in an antique shop in Maine. But I’m still waiting for it to produce a timeless classic for me. Charlie Harding： Martin D-28 是吉他音色和外观的“柏拉图式理想型”（我羞于承认这对我有多重要）。你在《Blackbird》、《Wish You Were Here》和《Big Yellow Taxi》中都听过它的声音。我在缅因州的一家古董店里淘到了一把 1970 年产的。但我还在等它为我创作出一首永恒的经典。
Nate Sloan: Sibelius music notation software. Whenever I’m analyzing a song, I don’t truly understand it until I transcribe its melody, harmony, and rhythm. Nate Sloan： Sibelius 乐谱软件。每当我分析一首歌时，除非我把它的旋律、和声和节奏都记下来，否则我无法真正理解它。
Which is the most underappreciated? 哪样工具最被低估？
CH: Keyboard shortcuts and the app Rectangle save me hours of my life every year by doing the mundane task of repositioning windows on my computer. And they also make me feel like I’m mission control on some kind of spaceship. CH： 键盘快捷键和 Rectangle 应用每年都能帮我节省数小时的时间，它们处理了电脑上调整窗口位置这种琐碎的任务。而且它们让我感觉自己就像在某种宇宙飞船的任务控制中心一样。
NS: The metronome. NS： 节拍器。
What is the first app you install on a new phone or computer? 你在新手机或电脑上安装的第一个应用是什么？
NS: AudioHijack for grabbing audio. NS： 用于抓取音频的 AudioHijack。
What is one thing you wish you could change about your phone? 你希望手机能做出什么改变？
CH: This is very nitpicky, but it drives me mad. I extensively use focus modes on iOS to help keep away distractions. But I also need people in my family to be able to reach me, so they get exceptions to the focus modes. However, that means any group messaging chain with just one family member blows up my notifications when I’m presenting to a lecture hall full of songwriting students. This means I’m urgently notified every time my recently retired father catches a fish. I am happy for my dad, but I’d be more happy to find out after 5 pm when I’m off “do not disturb.” If this makes me sound like a curmudgeon, I am. CH： 这很吹毛求疵，但它让我抓狂。我大量使用 iOS 的专注模式来屏蔽干扰。但我又需要家人能联系到我，所以他们被设为专注模式的例外。然而，这意味着任何包含一位家庭成员的群聊，都会在我给满屋子词曲创作学生讲课时让我的通知炸开。这意味着我父亲最近退休后每次钓到鱼，我都会收到紧急通知。我为父亲感到高兴，但我更希望在下午 5 点我关闭“勿扰模式”后再知道这些。如果这让我听起来像个脾气暴躁的老头，那确实如此。
NS: I wish I could strum it like a guitar. NS： 我希望我能像弹吉他一样弹奏它。
What sites do you have pinned to your tab bar? 你将哪些网站固定在标签栏上？
NS: ProQuest Historical Newspapers. NS： ProQuest 历史报纸数据库。
How many tabs do you have open right now? 你现在打开了多少个标签页？
CH: 92… but they are nicely organized into groups that only I understand. CH： 92 个……但它们被很好地整理成了只有我能看懂的分组。
NS: Two. I used to have hundreds open, but it was killing my attention span, so I now make a point of constantly closing them. NS： 两个。我以前会打开几百个，但这严重破坏了我的注意力，所以我现在养成了一个习惯：不断地关闭它们。
Which social media platform do you use the most (if any)? 你使用最多的社交媒体平台是什么（如果有的话）？
NS: Instagram, guiltily. NS： Instagram，带着负罪感地使用。
What is your happy place online? 你在网上的“快乐老家”是哪里？
CH: Browsing Sweetwater for variations of guitar pedals that I already own. CH： 在 Sweetwater 上浏览我已经拥有的吉他效果器的各种变体。
NS: Watching ukulele tutorials on YouTube. NS： 在 YouTube 上看尤克里里教程。
What is your favorite gadget you’ve ever owned? 你拥有过的最喜欢的电子产品是什么？
CH: The Dato DUO synthesizer and Dato DRUM drum machine. They are the easiest way to learn to program a synthesizer, and you can’t make a bad sound. My kids jam on them every night. It’s turned them into Brooklyn DJs, unfortunately. CH： Dato DUO 合成器和 Dato DRUM 鼓机。它们是学习合成器编程最简单的方式，而且你怎么玩都不会发出难听的声音。我的孩子们每天晚上都用它们即兴演奏。不幸的是，这把他们变成了布鲁克林的 DJ。
NS: The iPod that I traveled around the world with in 2006. NS： 2006 年陪我环游世界的 iPod。
Which was the most disappointing? 最让你失望的是什么？
NS: The minidisc player. NS： 迷你光盘（Minidisc）播放器。
What game do you have the fondest memories of? 你记忆中最美好的游戏是什么？
NS: Pac-Man. NS： 吃豆人（Pac-Man）。
What tech trend do you wish would go away? 你希望哪种科技趋势消失？
CH: AI music slop, full stop. CH： 人工智能生成的垃圾音乐，句号。
NS: Wearable computing. NS： 可穿戴计算设备。
What is one thing you wish you had created? 你希望自己创造了什么？
CH: In 2007 I pitched my college friends on creating an app that would allow you to legally hitchhike in other people’s cars. We started a tea company instead, which was ultimately less of a liability. CH： 2007 年，我向大学朋友提议开发一款应用，让你能合法地搭乘别人的顺风车。结果我们转而去开了一家茶公司，最终看来这带来的法律责任更小。
NS: Autotune. NS： 自动调音（Autotune）。
What creation are you most proud of? 你最引以为傲的作品是什么？
CH: Switched On Pop. My wife read this and said I should add my children. CH： 《Switched On Pop》。我妻子读到这里说我应该加上我的孩子们。
NS: Coining the term “pop drop” to describe the instrumental postchorus in a pop song. NS： 创造了“pop drop”这个词，用来描述流行歌曲中副歌之后的器乐部分。
Which are you least proud of? 你最不引以为傲的是什么？
CH: My wife read this and said I should say my guitar pedal collection. CH： 我妻子读到这里说我应该说是我的吉他效果器收藏。
NS: Getting dunked on by YouTuber Rick Beato after calling the Jonas Brothers “stupefyingly funky” in a New York Times article. NS： 在《纽约时报》的一篇文章中称 Jonas Brothers “极其时髦”（stupefyingly funky）后，被 YouTuber Rick Beato 狠狠嘲讽了一番。
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? 你收到过最好的建议是什么？
CH: You can never have too many guitar pedals. CH： 吉他效果器永远不嫌多。
NS: Have a short memory. NS： 记性要短（指不要纠结于过去）。
What is your current obsession? 你目前沉迷于什么？
NS: LeBron James signing with the 76ers. NS： 勒布朗·詹姆斯签约 76 人队。
What do you do when you need to focus? 当你需要专注时会做什么？
CH: Drink some tea. CH： 喝点茶。
NS: Step away from the computer, take NS： 离开电脑，去……