Music is a significant part of my life. It’s actually the reason I was born. Dad is a heavy metal musician and mom was his groupie. Even though they split when I was young, music has been the bassline to our relationships.

I recently spent a month in Bali with my friend, Cam, to get yoga teacher certified. The most stressful part of packing for this trip was deciding which band shirts to bring with me. I settled on two: a Bleachers sleeveless top that I bought at their November show in NYC and mom’s *authentically vintage* Metallica shirt from the the 80’s. I wore mom’s shirt when I missed home/family and the Bleachers shirt to express my (unhealthy) obsession with Jack Antonoff.

Band shirts aside, here are some tunes that served as the soundtrack to my Bali adventure:

David Bowie

My magical time in Bali got even better when I discovered that I would experience a Balinese Cremation Ceremony. Being the Capricorn journalist that I am, I did research to learn about said ceremony. I learned that David Bowie loved Bali so much that he requested in his will to have this exact ceremony done in his honor. That didn’t happen, but his ashes were still scattered there. He wrote “Tumble & Twirl” with Iggy Pop about their visit to Indonesia. This research resonated deeply with me as I admire Bowie’s work as well as his gender-bending progressiveness.

The day after Bowie died in 2015, I was lucky enough to be working in SoHo just a few blocks away from his Manhattan apartment. I (with thousands of other fans) paid tribute to him there. In January 2016, I got a lightning bolt tattoo on the outside of my right wrist in dedication to him. The tributes didn’t stop there. While in Bali, I recreated his iconic photo by a beautiful Balinese door (the featured image for this blog post).

Madonna

Much of Bali and the philosophy lectures of yoga teacher training reminded me of Madonna’s album, Ray of Light, which turned 20 the day yoga training started (#kismet). I was 11 years old when that album came out. The videos for “Frozen” and “Nothing Really Matters” captivated me. The simplicity. The imagery. The lyrics. I bought the CD and listened to it on repeat. “Mer Girl” haunted me. “Sky Fits Heaven” inspired me. I didn’t fully understand the lyrical content until quite a few years later, but I knew she was talking about something powerful. Madonna wrote Ray of Light when she was exploring Eastern philosophy, yoga, and kabbalah. Now, after yoga teacher training, I hear this album in a whole new ray of light.

Stand out lyrics:

“Traveling down this road
Watching the signs as I go
I think I’ll follow the sun
Isn’t everyone just
Traveling down their own road
Watching the signs as they go
I think I’ll follow my heart
It’s a very good place to start”

-“Sky Fits Heaven”

“I ran and I ran. I was looking for me.”

-“Mer Girl”

Local Bali Tunes

The taxi ride from the Denpasar airport to our AirBnB in Ubud was punctuated by beautiful, calming music that Cam and I hadn’t heard before. This instrumental style of music became the subtle soundtrack to our trip. It played at restaurants, spas, and eventually on our phones once when we downloaded it to listen to while hanging out. I now listen to this music here in the city when I’m walking through the Manhattan madness, cleaning my apartment, or writing.

Red Hot Chili Peppers

This song means so much to me. It came out in 2006 at a pivotal point when I decided to stop doing coke. Anthony Keidis singing about his personal issues with substance abuse inspired me to quit, too. I continued drinking for several years, but hey (oh), baby steps. One of my favorite lyrics (mentioned below) gained a deeper perspective as I learned more about Eastern philosophy and meditation at yoga teacher training.

Stand out lyrics:

The more I see, the less I know
The more I like to let it go

-“Snow (Hey Oh)”

The Greatest Showman

One day in Bali I couldn’t stop crying during the morning yoga class or the silent breakfast. Nothing in particular was “wrong”. I was feeling some things I’d suppressed in my everyday NYC hustle of glorifying busy-ness. I even dramatically wrote a poem during morning lecture called Bali Breakdown, describing how out of control I felt. Many uncomfortable but necessary emotions came up as a result of slowing down, being silent and sequestered far from home.

After lunch I made some tea, sat on the deck outside my room, and listened to The Greatest Showman soundtrack. “Come Alive” to be particular. I saw the movie with my mom and aunt in February. Sitting on the deck, observing the beautiful Balinese nature, and listening to these songs reminded me of sitting in the movie theater with two women I Iove dearly and how happy I was to be with them. This song paired with those memories got me out of my funk and ready to take on the rest of the day. This was one of the days I wore mom’s Metallica shirt for emotional support.

Stand out lyrics:

“When the world becomes a fantasy
And you’re more than you could ever be
‘Cause you’re dreaming with your eyes wide open
And you know you can’t go back again
To the world that you were living in
‘Cause you’re dreaming with your eyes wide open
So, come alive!”

-“Come Alive” by Hugh Jackman & Co.

 

Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen)

Dear Evan Hansen is my favorite musical. Heavy subject matter (crippling anxiety and teen suicide) was turned into a light-hearted musical through stellar writing and casting, including Ben Platt’s powerful lead performance. On the previously mentioned “bad day in Bali”, I also listened to this soundtrack to cheer me up. I met another New Yorker, Liz, at yoga teacher training who loved this soundtrack, too. We bonded while singing these songs annoyingly loud. The Dear Evan Hansen soundtrack inspired Liz, Cam, and myself to treat mundane conversations as if they were scenes from musicals. #yolo

On my last day in Bali, I got a tattoo while listening to “For Forever” – hoping that show tunes would get me mentally prepared for my return to New York City life. It did. If you want to see a video of this exact moment, check it out here.

Fun Fact: The soundtracks to The Greatest Showman and Dear Even Hansen were both written by the incredible song writing duo, Pasek & Paul.

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There were tons of other songs that Cam and I jammed to that deserve mentioning. Here are a few of them: “Stolen Dance“, “This Girl“, “Hymn for the Weekend”, “Make Me Feel“, “How Far I’ll Go“, “Building a Mystery“, “Soak Up the Sun“, “The Edge of Glory“, “Right Now“, “Split Screen Sadness“, “Everyday“, “The Space Between“, “I Am the Walrus“.

You can listen to this Bali-inspired playlist on Apple Music. 🙂

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Tawny Lara is the founder of SobrieTea Party and Readings on Recovery. She writes about being sober in New York City and hosts sober socializing events.

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