Ann Powers
Stories
-
The best albums of 2025
Pop critic Ann Powers shares a handful the albums on NPR Music's list of the best of the year, including the one album that nearly the entire team agreed on.
-
Love songs are weird right now
The biggest song of 2025 is a straightforward ode to marriage, but the charts and algorithms are filled with love songs expressing something messier.
-
What we lose in the gamification of music
Music shouldn't be treated like a game to master — it should be treated like something that affects and potentially changes you.
-
Why the world needs a pop-punk Superman
In the latest Superman film, Lois Lane and Clark Kent have a fight about what's more punk: edginess or kindness. The fate of something more than the mosh pit hangs in the balance.
-
Brian Wilson, the troubled genius behind The Beach Boys, has died at age 82
The Beach Boys' co-founder, songwriter and producer transformed pop music into high art, and became America's answer to The Beatles' Lennon and McCartney in the process.
-
Gen Z conquers the Grammys
Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar won the night's biggest awards, but the real takeaway from the Grammys is that a wave of younger stars has arrived on the pop scene, fully prepared to own the spotlight.
-
NPR Music talks about new albums from Sturgill Simpson and Cassandra Jenkins
It's been a busy week for new music. NPR's Music team discusses new albums by Sturgill Simpson, Cassandra Jenkins and more.
