Ann K. Powers (born February 4, 1964)[1] is an American writer and popular music critic.[2] She is a music critic forNPR and a contributor at theLos Angeles Times, where she was previously chief pop critic. She has also written for other publications, such asThe New York Times,Blender andThe Village Voice. Powers is the author ofWeird Like Us: My Bohemian America, a memoir;Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black & White, Body and Soul in American Music, on eroticism in American pop music; andPiece by Piece, co-authored withTori Amos.
Powers' professional writing career began in 1980[3] while she was still in high school, when she started writing for the Seattle music weekly magazineThe Rocket.[4][5] After college, in 1986, Powers started writing about popular music and pop culture as a columnist at theSan Francisco Weekly.[3] After moving to New York City, she wrote forThe New York Times from 1992 to 1993, then was an editor atThe Village Voice from 1993 to 1996. From 1997 to 2001, Powers was the pop critic atThe New York Times.[6]
From 2001 until May 2005, Powers was senior curator at theExperience Music Project (EMP) in Seattle, which later becameMuseum of Pop Culture (MoPOP). Powers and her husbandEric Weisbard have helped organize the annual EMP Pop Conference (now MoPOP Conference) since its inception in 2002.[7][8]
After a brief tenure asBlender magazine's senior critic, in March 2006, she accepted a position as chief pop critic at theLos Angeles Times, where she succeededRobert Hilburn.[9] Powers wrote regularly for Pop & Hiss, theLos Angeles Times' music blog, in addition to other features and news articles. She remained in this position until March 2011, when she departed forNPR, though she continued as a contributor for theLos Angeles Times afterward.[10][11] Since 2011, Powers has beenNPR Music's critic and correspondent.[12] Powers has written for The Record, NPR's blog about finding, making, buying, sharing, and talking about music, since April 2011. In 2017, Powers spearheaded a multi-platform project at NPR called Turning the Tables.[13] The project sought to reconstitute the canon of American popular music by publishing a list of the 150 greatest albums by women and a related series of essays, audio features, and events.[14][15] Powers is also the Nashville correspondent forWorld Cafe, regularly recording sessions with local and regional Southern musicians.[16]
Powers' work often critiques the perceptions of sex, racial, and social minorities in the music industry. She has written about topics such as religion, feminism, and film.[2][17]
Powers co-edited the 1995 anthologyRock She Wrote: Women Write About Rock, Pop, and Rap, and was the guest editor of theDa Capo PressBest Music Writing 2010.[18][19]
In 2000, Powers published the memoirWeird Like Us: My Bohemian America.[20][21] The book focuses on Powers' time living in Seattle, San Francisco, and Brooklyn.[22] Joshua Klein ofthe A.V. Club described the project as "us[ing Powers'] personal experiences to define howyouth culture (what she callsbohemianism) has changed over the years (though she lingers mostly on the '80s)."[23]
In 2005, Powers co-wrote the bookPiece by Piece with musicianTori Amos.[24] The book discusses the role of women in the modern music industry and features information about composing, touring, performance, and the realities of the music business.[25][26]
Powers wrote a proposal for a book onKate Bush's albumThe Dreaming that was slated to be published in 2007 as part of the33⅓ series; however, the project was abandoned when Powers started her job at theLos Angeles Times, and the book was never written.[27][28][29]
In August 2017, Powers published the bookGood Booty: Love and Sex, Black & White, Body and Soul in American Music.[30] The book reconsiders the history of American popular music through the lens of sexuality and eroticism. It was positively reviewed and was chosen as one of the best books of 2017 byThe Wall Street Journal,NPR,No Depression, andBuzzFeed.[31][32][33][34][35]
In 2024 she published a biography of singer-songwriterJoni Mitchell, titled,Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell.[36]
Powers has appeared in various TV shows and documentaries. She was in the filmThe Punk Singer as an interviewee discussing the influence ofKathleen Hanna on punk music.[37] She also appeared in the documentariesThe Gits andUndeniably Donnie[38] in addition theBehind the Music Remastered episode onHeart.
Powers, Ann (2017).Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black & White, Body and Soul in American Music. New York: Dey Street, William Morrow.ISBN978-0-062-46369-2.OCLC981576251.
Powers, Ann (2014). "If the Girls Were All Transported". In Wilson, Carl (ed.).Let's Talk About Love: Why Other People Have Such Bad Taste. New York: Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 183–188.ISBN978-1-4411-6677-7.
Powers, Ann (2017). "Houses of the Holy". In Lethem, Jonathan; Dettmar, Kevin J. H. (eds.).Shake It Up: Great American Writing On Rock And Pop From Elvis To Jay Z. New York: Library of America.ISBN978-1-598-53531-0.OCLC959032031. – onPJ Harvey's albumRid of Me
^333sound (11 March 2006)."33 x 33 1/3".33⅓.Archived from the original on 8 January 2018. Retrieved7 January 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Powers, Ann (2017).Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black & White, Body and Soul in American Music. New York: Dey Street, William Morrow.ISBN978-0-062-46369-2.OCLC981576251.
