The Playlist: Numbers in Action

Since we just rolled out the results of the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll, this week's Texas news-inspired playlist kicks off with "Numbers in Action" by Wiley.

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 poll found that Texans are much more optimistic about the direction of the state than the nation as a whole, which gave us an excuse to include "God Blessed Texas" by Little Texas. That's followed by Debbie Harry's "Under Arrest," which is a nod to the high-profile capture of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, the leader of Mexico's ruthless Sinaloa drug cartel.

Next up, because Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott has contended that Democrats are trying to use his wife against him, we have John Lee Hooker's "Leave My Wife Alone." And in light of a court battle playing out over a proposed open pit coal mine on the border, we also added "Coal War" by Joshua James. 

A federal judge in San Antonio ruled Wednesday that Texas' ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, so we added Willie Nelson's version of "Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other." The Tribune's Jim Malewitz wrote about a tapped-out oil town converting its aging pump jacks into modern art, inspiring the addition of "Everything Old is New Again" by Barenaked Ladies. 

At a Tribune event in El Paso, former state demographer Steve Murdock gave a talk about how population shifts will affect public policy, so we have "Things are Changing" by Gary Clark Jr. That's followed by "Raised Eyebrows" by The Feelies, which was included because of a case challenging the state's regulations on eyebrow threading that made it to the state Supreme Court.

And as a nod to the Trib's new policies designed to make it — in the words of Editor Emily Ramshaw — the "most transparently funded news organization in the country," we close with "I Can See Everything" by JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound.

Enjoy!