The Playlist: Not Ready to Make Nice

Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks kicked off the week at the Texas Capitol singing "Not Ready to Make Nice," which captured the spirit of Monday's rallies for and against abortion restrictions. That same song leads our playlist inspired by the week's news in Texas politics and policy.

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

The throngs were at the Capitol because Gov. Rick Perry had called lawmakers back for yet another special session with the intention of passing several bills, including the omnibus abortion legislation that Republicans had failed to push through in the first special. Accordingly, the next song on our playlist is "One More Time," by Daft Punk.

Of course, the abortion restrictions failed in the first special because of a filibuster by state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth. With both sides raising money in the wake of the filibuster, we included Lurrie Bell's  "Everybody Wants to Win."

Davis, now a People-worthy celebrity, made the talk show rounds last Sunday talk, prompting us to add "Spotlight," by Dexter Freebish. But as the Trib's Ross Ramsey noted, given the state's political realities, it's not the optimal moment for Davis if her plan is to run for governor. Cue Trace Adkins' "Timing is Everything."

Speaking of the next governor, the Trib's Jay Root noted that, for the first time in this millenium, the likely front-runner for Texas' top job is expected to be someone other than Perry — so we went with Alison Krauss ' "New Favorite."

This week some federal student loans increased and decisions were made about the fate of the Houston Astrodome. We tapped Jackson Browne's "Call it a Loan" and Whiskeytown's "Empty Baseball Park," respectively.

With a small group of young murderers awaiting legislative action to determine how they will be sentenced, we have Moonlight Bride's "Young Guns."

Finally, as we await Perry's eagerly anticipated Monday announcement about his "exciting future plans," we close with Bruce Springsteen's "Livin' in the Future." 

Enjoy!