[Quirky/Acoustic/Uplifting] - "Away From Here"

‘I saw Johnny Marr live in person, with The Smiths. He was light on his feet; like quicksilver. He caused the band to swing like crazy. And he smoked his cigarette like a star. I’ve been influenced ever since.’ Iggy Pop

Johnny Marr was born in 1960s Manchester to Irish emigrant parents and knew from an early age that he would be a musician. Forming his first band at thirteen, Marr spent his teenage years on the council estates of Wythenshawe playing guitar, devouring pop culture and inventing his own musical style.

It wasn't until the early eighties, when Marr turned up on the doorstep of a singer named Steven Patrick Morrissey, that both a unique songwriting partnership and the group recognised as one of the most iconic bands of all time were formed. In 1983 The Smiths released their first single, and within a year their eponymous debut album reached number two in the UK chart, paving the way for mainstream and critical success on their own terms.

For Marr, tensions within the band and desire for a wider musical scope led to his departure from The Smiths in 1987, ensuring the end of one of the most influential British groups of a generation.

Set the Boy Free written and read by Johnny Marr (audiobook extract)

Listen to an excerpt of Andrea Marcum's CLOSE TO OM audiobook, read by the author.

Andrea Marcum's Close to Om is a practical and philosophical yoga audiobook that promotes and teaches mindfulness in both your yoga practice and your everyday life.

Before Marcum was a sought after celebrity yoga teacher, she was someone who thought she couldn’t do yoga because she couldn’t be still. Now after sixteen years of teaching yoga, she works with network executives, global brands, Hollywood actresses, and everyone in between.

Yoga is the yoke of body, mind, and spirit, and in Close to Om, Marcum offers a guide to teach all three aspects of yoga showcasing Marcum’s signature unique style, this program combines the teaching of poses with the exploration of yoga philosophy and insight into meditation and mindfulness.

By the end of Close to Om, listeners will not only know a lot about yoga and its poses, but they’ll also know more about themselves: who they are, what they want, and how to get there—on and off their mat. The progression in Close to Om is the architecture of every yoga practice—and will show listeners that how they do their yoga is how they do their life.

Buy the audiobook

Close to Om by Andrea Marcum | Meditation 1

Music on the Wind , Track 21

Air: O'Carolan's Farewell to Music

Sean Moloney on Flute.
Backing on harp by Mary Long

This transcendental tune was composed by the blind, seventeenth-century,harpist Turlough O'Carolan. I first heard it played by harpist, Maire Ni Cathasaigh.

Sean Moloney: Music on the Wind. Track 21. Flute/Harp. (Traditional Irish Flute)

Dear Listener.

Thank you for stopping by.

Here is the second improvisation in the Songs Without Words series.

This piece was created (on a whim) at the upright piano, recorded with my iPhone. I uploaded that audio into Pro Tools and played along to it, on my keyboard (via midi). My intent was to capture the vibe, feel and all of the "right" notes.

I left the cellphone recording in the mix because there is something about the background noise, the air and "aliveness" of it that I've come to appreciate.

The timing isn't perfect, and you'll hear some background sounds. There are some pitch differences, too. (I really need to get the acoustic piano tuned.)

Though, there are qualities of peace and spontaneity and freedom from thinking, that I think were captured. My hope is that those qualities translate to you as you listen.

Much love, xx
Carrie
P.S. Virtual tips are warmly appreciated: https://paypal.me/carriehryniw

Song Without Words - Improvisation No. 2

Gillam, upstate New York.

A town of ordinary, big-lawned suburban houses. The Gleesons have recently moved there and soon welcome the Stanhopes as their new neighbours. Lonely Lena Gleeson wants a friend but Anne Stanhope - cold, elegant, unstable - wants to be left alone.

It's left to their children - Lena's youngest, Kate, and Anne's only child, Peter - to find their way to one another. To form a friendship whose resilience and love will be almost broken by the fault line dividing both families, and by the terrible tragedy that will engulf them all.

A tragedy whose true origins only become clear many years later . . .

A story of love and redemption, faith and forgiveness, Ask Again, Yes reveals the way childhood memories change when viewed from the distance of adulthood - villains lose their menace, and those who appeared innocent seem less so.

Ask Again, Yes

From the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All Over but the Shoutin' and The Best Cook in the World, a collection of his irresistible columns from Southern Living and Garden &amp; Gun A collection of wide-ranging and endearingly personal columns by the celebrated author, newspaper columnist, and Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Bragg, culled from his best-loved pieces in Southern Living and Garden &amp; Gun. From his love of Tupperware ("My Affair with Tupperware") to the decline of country music, from the legacy of Harper Lee to the metamorphosis of the pickup truck, the best way to kill fire ants, the unbridled excess of Fat Tuesday, and why any self-respecting southern man worth his salt should carry a good knife, Where I Come From is an ode to the stories and the history of the Deep South, written with tenderness, wit, and deep affection--a book that will be treasured by fans old and new.

Where I Come From by Rick Bragg, read by Rick Bragg

Listen to an excerpt from LET US DREAM by Pope Francis and Austen Ivereigh and read by Arthur Morey

LET US DREAM Audiobook Excerpt

Afternoon Coffee Jazz - Elegant Smooth Jazz Music for Exquisite Mood, Relaxing Jazz Instrumental Background

Piano Jazz

Penguin Books publishes blockbusting, prize-winning, celebrated, controversial, heart-warming, thought-provoking and inspiring books by a range of authors from Ali Smith to Zadie Smith, Jeremy Clarkson to Jeremy Paxman and Jamie Oliver to Oliver Goldsmith.

Ask Again, Yes

Penguin Books UK