The Playlist: Quittin' Time

It was an intense week at the University of Texas System, culminating with the resignation of University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers. To mark the occasion, our playlist starts with Mary Chapin Carpenter's "Quittin' Time."

In a bit of an experiment, this week's entire playlist is dedicated to the UT saga. The easiest way to enjoy it 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: 

It all started last week, when UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa met with Powers to tell him he needed to agree to resign by October or face termination at a meeting of the board of regents coming up on July 10. This moment is captured by Keane's "Time To Go." Two days later, Powers countered with a proposal to resign later in 2015, so we have "I Need More Time" by the Del McCoury Band.

Cigarroa issued a public statement saying the push for Powers to leave was motivated by "a breakdown of communication, collegiality, trust and a willingness to work together for the good of the university." This prompted the addition of "Communication Breakdown" by Led Zeppelin.

Meanwhile, the co-chairs of a legislative committee sent a letter reminding the system's leadership — for the third time — that the committee had issued clear instructions not to fire Powers. In the playlist, their message is conveyed via Mindy Smith's "You Just Forgot."

On the eve of the board meeting at which Powers was expected to be fired, it was announced that Cigarroa had accepted his resignation, effective June 2, 2015. Pete Yorn marks the date for us in the playlist with his song "June."

At the meeting, with that matter settled, Paul Foster, the chairman of the UT System board, made a public statement encouraging board members, university leaders, and alumni associations to be more cooperative with each other, so we added "Behave!" by Frightened Rabbit.

Foster also decried the tactics people had used to try to get the board to vote their way. "It’s fine for people to let us know their opinions, but not try to exert outside influence through threats and innuendos," he said. It reminded us of our next song: Michael Jackson's "Leave Me Alone."

Also at the meeting, Regent Alex Cranberg said it was time for people to "put their swords down and start trying to look to the future." As a nod to his remarks, we added "Lay Down Your Swords, Boys" by Shawn Mullins.

And finally, because despite the stressful week, Foster, Cigarroa, and Powers all expressed optimism about the future, we close with "Things Will Be Better" by The Byrds.

Enjoy!