The Playlist: Once More With Feeling

Gov. Rick Perry called lawmakers back to the Capitol this week for yet another special session, the third since the 83rd regular session ended in May. So we start our latest news-inspired playlist with Kris Kristofferson's "Once More With Feeling."

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:

We included "The Right to Vote," by Laura Nyro, in honor of a student leader at Prairie View A&M University who is taking a stand about the lack of polling locations on campus. It's followed by Joseph Arthur's "Evidence," which is something that has proven elusive in the dispute over whether or not protestors attempted to bring feces into the Capitol in mid-July.

Because the number of absent lawmakers has become increasingly noticable as the special sessions drag on, we chose "She's Not There," by The Zombies.

Many legislators are announcing plans to run for higher office, and some rollouts in the race for attorney general have encountered bumps. Facebook had to apologize after erroneously pulling state Rep. Dan Branch's campaign video from its site for allegedly violating standards. As a nod to the social network, we have "It's a Mistake," by Men at Work. 

Meanwhile, state Sen. Ken Paxton's campaign had to issue a correction to its list of endorsements, which initially included conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan, even though he has yet to endorse anyone. "I Didn't Mean to Say That," by the dB's, seems apt.

The Tribune's Jay Root got the earliest look at Attorney General Greg Abbott's settlement agreement following an accident that left him paralyzed, so we have Super Cat's "Settlement." It's followed by Leonard Cohen's "Closing Time," for Brandi Grissom's story about the reaction to legislators' decision to close two privately run jails.

The Shangri-Las' "Simon Says" is in reference to Ross Ramsey's column about the game being played with the state's political maps. We close with a song for Ryan Murphy's life expectancy map: "75 and Sunny," a meditation on the subject from the Ryan Montbleau Band.

Enjoy!