Ann Powers

It was in Seattle's Frye Art Museum that I first found endless love with a work of art. My mother often took us there to look at the landscapes and portraits bequeathed by the culturally aspirational owner of a local meatpacking plant. The canvas that fascinated me was ...

There are unsung heroes of rock and roll, and then there are complicated cases like Mark Lanegan. The Washington State-born rocker with the voice like a shifting fog earned a spot in rock history as singer for the 1990s slacker psychedelic group the Screaming Trees — remember "Nearly ...

Some songwriters are so adept at capturing the mess and miracle of everyday emotion that their work resonates as exceptionally truthful. John Grant is one of those. In recent years, the 44-year-old former frontman for Colorado rock band the Czars has produced two exceptional collections of funny, brutal, nuanced songs ...

That guy Prince has a sense of humor. His closing night show at the year's South By Southwest music conference and festival was advertised with the hashtag #thenextbigthing — as if the Purple One hadn't long ago established himself as the Dickensian Big Thing of festivals ...

Nashville's Luella and the Sun approach the blues and gospel-soul as if these traditions were the food of the gods and they haven't eaten for a week. Luella herself has a ferocious, feminine voice, and performs with zero fear. If you like the White Stripes, you will love the fire ...

The true rock legends change the game. Stevie Nicks, as a member of Fleetwood Mac, and later in her solo career, changed the game not only for women, but for what you could do in rock as a songwriter and a singer. While living in the male-dominated world ...

A month before she graduated from high school in her small hometown of Mineola, Texas, Kacey Musgraves reached up high and stuck a piece of paper on a hallway wall. The school principal, Ricky Stephens, just let it sit there, in case the singer-songwriter got famous one day. We don't ...

Hear Ann Powers talk about David Bowie's career, and his new album, with Morning Edition's Renee Montagne by clicking the audio link above.

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My musical world does not exist without David Bowie's influence. This is certainly hyperbole; and yet when I think of the past 10 ...

The 31-year-old singer announced after her Super Bowl performance that her upcoming world tour would be called “The Mrs. Carter Show” — referencing her husband, Jay-Z, née Shawn Car...

From a cringe-worthy "Roofie anthem" to an emerging Americana artist, NPR Music critic Ann Powers shares her answers to our 2012 Music Survey. 

Last month, both rapper Kanye West's "Perfect Bitch" and Lupe Fiasco's "Bitch Bad" rekindled an age-old debate about the use of the word "bitch" in music. Pop music critic Ann Powers  recently wrote about the term for the NPR Music blog The Record. Powers joined us to talk about the history of the word's usage in music -- from 1920s blues ballads to Elton John's proclamation that the "Bitch is Back" -- and to explain why the word "bitch" continues to make her uncomfortable. 

This week's episode prominently featured a rarely licensed (and expensive) Beatles tune that underlined Don Draper's disconnection from the rapidly changing youth culture of the '60s....

This week, alternative rock's bible, SPIN magazine, announced that it would eliminate the standard short album review from the magazine. In 2012 the magazine's writers will assess 1,5...

Here’s a controversial analogy for you: Bob Dylan is to the sixties as Lady Gaga is to the… what are we calling this decade, anyway? With the release of Gaga’s second album coinciding (almost) with the 70^th birthday of The Voice of a Generation himself, the protest singer comparisons abound. NPR music critic Ann Powers joins us with her take on Gaga’s anthem-filled new release, “Born This Way,” as well as her thoughts on the Lady Gaga/Bob Dylan comparison.

This was the year when a band from Montreal topped the charts, American Idol went indie, and Lady Gaga and Beyonce had their very own Thelma and Louise moment. Los Angeles Times chief pop music critic Ann Powers and Rolling Stone contributing editor Rob Sheffield join us with their lists of 2010’s best rock and pop music.

More than 30 stories are included in this year’s "Best Music Writing" collection. Among them: Pitchfork writer Nitsuh Abebe’s reflections on the ever-shifting definition of indie music, and an in-depth profile of Merle Haggard by Rolling Stone’s executive editor, Jason Fine. We talk with Abebe, Fine and the book’s guest editor, Los Angeles Times pop music critic Ann Powers.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its short list of nominees last week. The list of candidates for induction next year includes The J. Geils Band, Bon Jovi, Donovan and Neil Diamond. Our Smackdown guests were a little underwhelmed.