How sex gave pop music its meaning

Ann Powers is a music critic who has spent a lot of time considering the relationship between music and sexuality.
She's written for the New York Times, the Village Voice and the Los Angeles Times and she's currently a music critic for NPR.

Last week, her book Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music hit the shelves.

Good Booty may just be the definitive record of how music and sexuality intersect in American pop music. It takes you on a journey through the last couple centuries of American music — from gospel to blues to jazz; from rock to disco to pop — to tell the story of how sex gave pop music its meaning and in turn, how pop music changed the way we see sex.

But Good Booty isn't just about the music: it also touches on the desires, fears and power dynamics that have shaped the United States. Ann Powers spoke to q host Tom Power about Good Booty.

— Produced by Cora Nijhawan