The Playlist: Tears Over Beers

Three Texas breweries filed a lawsuit against the state for allegedly "stifling the craft beer renaissance," so we begin this week's news-inspired playlist with "Tears Over Beers" by Modern Baseball.

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

After eight years of growth, change and public corruption scandals, new leaders in Laredo and Webb County are greeting 2015 with a sense of optimism, inspiring our next selection: Bruce Springsteen's "High Hopes." The University of Texas at Austin recently came under some scrutiny for losing track of some brains, but that's not all that's gone missing, so we have "Losing Streak" by Eels.

Because Gov.-elect Greg Abbott said he hoped to add $4 billion for road funding, we added "Many More Roads" by Ky-Mani Marley. And because state Sen. Charles Schwertner filed a bill that would re-regulate college tuition, we added "Regulate" by Warren G and Nate Dogg.

Then, because Jack Stick, the top lawyer for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, is resigning his post, we have Harry Connick, Jr.'s "Time To Go." New math standards are proving to be a hurdle for students and teachers in elementary and middle schools, so included Hilary Duff's "The Math."

The Trib's Alexa Ura wrote about how legislators are set to move forward with a consolidation of the state's five health agencies into a single health commission, which inspired the selection of "Come Together" by Echosmith. She also wrote about how Abbott may have difficulty balancing the interests of his Republican base and his newfound Hispanic supporters, so we have "Balance" by Future Islands.

And because the leaders of the committee responsible for organizing the inaugural festivities for Abbott and Lt. Gov.-elect Dan Patrick were announced this week, we close with Elvis Presley singing "Let's Have a Party."

Enjoy!