Last call at our house is around 8:30 pm every night. That’s the time when Emma emerges from her room dressed in her super-comf jammies, feeling quite fresh after her evening bath, and looking for that one final bottle of warm milk.
Last call.
Emma holds her own bottle as she reclines on my lap. She drinks it down as the music begins to play. For the next ten to fifteen minutes, it’s only father, daughter, milk, and as Emma says, “moo-zik”.
We started off listening to Lenny Kravitz’s debut album Let Love Rule but after two sessions we decided that the overall aesthetic and vibe of the record wasn’t necessarily meeting our needs in terms of lulling the Bug off to Nighty-Nightsville.
Next, I burned a mix CD. The first four tracks I consider essential listening. The next four are more obscure in nature, whether by artist or by tune. And the final set is a collection of personal favorites of mine. Behold the playlist:
- Free Fallin’ – Tom Petty
- Drive – The Cars
- Lights – Journey
- Sweet Child o’ Mine – Guns ‘n’ Roses
- Perfect Blue Buildings – Counting Crows
- Un Poquito Mas – Los Amigos Invisibles
- When We Become – Clem Snide
- Behind the Sun – Red Hot Chili Peppers
- San Diego Serenade – Tom Waits
- Something – The Beatles
- Ripple – Grateful Dead
- Brokedown Palace – Grateful Dead
Lately though, we’ve pushed aside that compilation in favor of Damien Rice’s O disc. The soothing combination of voice, guitar, and viola is quite a nice way to end an evening. Two songs and it’s off to Dreamland for all of us. Father, daughter, milk, and “moo-zik”.
Man, I love last call.
The Adventures of ALS Boy 
I’m pleased to learn (and you may be too) that 3 of your 4 “essential listening” selections are staples in the BAND CAMP playlist. (We don’t do “Drive” by The Cars, but we really should – it’s one of my favorites of the era, and I do bust it out at karaoke on occasion).
“Last call” means something very different in my world, but yours & Emma’s version is much sweeter!
Hey Jason,
I am just getting caught up on your blog again… i have recently been listening to an acoustic version of free falling by john mayer and i love it…
today, i enjoyed hearing about your last call and can remember those days well when my nattie would curl up on me… now i just mostly embarrass her…thanks for sharing your life and your gifts… sending love and healing prayers always, Kim and all of the marshall clan.