When I went to Israel for the first time, back in 1997, I spent Shabbat at the Dan Panorama hotel in Tel Aviv. I intended to go to services on Friday night, but I didn’t know where to find a Reform shul, so instead, I found myself wandering along the beach and Hayarkon Street (adjacent to the beach). My meandering took me to the Sheraton Tel-Aviv, where a big crowd of twenty-ish folks was spending Shabbat evening at the Tango Club, dancing frenetically to music with a very distinct thumping beat. I listened for a while, then walked on — it wasn’t what I was looking for on my first Shabbat in Israel.
Today’s Bootcamp channel, The System, might well have played some of the same music I heard that night. It certainly had the same energy.
And, much to my surprise, I kept listening to The System all day — it was good music to program to, and even to have on in the background during a couple of phone calls. It’s a good thing I don’t use a touchpad, though, because I kept tapping my hands and feet to the rhythm all day long!
I don’t know if I’d want to listen to this kind of music as a foreground activity, but I might well return here on a day when I can use an infusion of energy.