The Playlist: Mother of Exiles

Following a report on twin sisters searching for their missing mother and forming a movement aimed at providing comfort to young victims of the drug war in Mexico, we begin this week's news-based playlist with Joseph Arthur's "Mother of Exiles."

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 "Texas Women," by Hank Williams, Jr., because Democrats are hoping suburban women might be their ticket to the governor's mansion in 2014.

It's followed by Robert Palmer's "Every Kinda People" — a nod to Corrie MacLaggan's report on Fort Bend County, which has been called the most ethnically diverse county in America. MacLaggan and Ryan Murphy also look at the homeless population in Texas this week, so we chose Guy Clark's "Homeless."

With funding woes putting state parks in peril, we have "Where the Green Grass Grows," by Tim McGraw. Weird Al Yankovic makes an appearance with "Another One Rides the Bus," because Austin transportation planners are hopeful that a toll project will help increase ridership on city buses.

U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, had his ethics questioned because of his purchase of Twitter stock, so we selected "Twitter Song," by Young Thug.

Next up, with gubernatorial hopeful Greg Abbott's proposing to allow Texans to openly carry firearms in public, we have "My Gun," by The Rubens. A lack of freshwater threatening life in Matagorda Bay inspired us to pick Sarah Jaffe's "Salt & Water."

We close with a classic song inspired by a Ross Ramsey column about the contrasting styles of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz: "Different Drum," by The Stone Poneys.

Enjoy!