The Playlist: Reefer Man

News broke that Joe Allbaugh, a former GOP confidante to George W. Bush and Rick Perry, is now serving on the board of a marijuana lab company, so this week's playlist kicks off with Cab Calloway's "Reefer Man."

The easiest way to enjoy the playlist is to download Spotify, a free program. But even without it, you can still follow along. Here are the other selections for the week:

State Rep. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, won Tuesday's special election for Senate District 28, so we have "You're A Winner" by Wild Ones. Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott unveiled new health policy proposals, so we added Warpaint's "Keep It Healthy"

Texas school districts will have accumulated a legal tab of over $8.5 million in the course of challenging the state's school finance system — a sum that the state will have to pay if it prevails. This inspired the inclusion of "Bills, Bills, Bills" by Destiny's Child. Then we have Sting with "Russians," because Texas Railroad Commissioner David Porter raised concerns that Russia is waging a misinformation campaign against hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking.

Next on the list is "Mexico" by Jump, Little Children, because that country was on the receiving end of a harsh rebuke from Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst this week. Meanwhile, the University of Texas System is taking steps to foster more collaboration with Mexican universities, inspiring the addition of Jack Johnson's "Better Together."

Texas now has 104 natural gas fueling stations, according to a map released this week by the Railroad Commission of Texas, so we have "Gas Station" by The Cool Kids and Bun B. And because of criticisms of a social studies textbook up for consideration by the State Board of Education, we have Sheryl Crow's "The Book."

And finally, Central Texans are looking to the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer for help with a water shortage, but others fear it won't be enough to satisfy the community's needs. So, we close with "Thirst" by City and Colour.

Enjoy!