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I recently learned that Brad Delp, lead singer of the rock band Boston passed away. It marked the end of an era for most rock fans who grew up with the band’s best known hit, More Than A feeling. Personally, the song was one of my all-time favorites and there was a time when I used to play it every morning to start my day even though it’s not exactly a feel-good tune as its lyrics suggest.

Now that I’m entering a crossroads in my life, armed with some recent humbling experiences and faced with what are probably my toughest challenges to date, I found myself playing this song and the words below started to resonate louder than ever. They say things are supposed to get worse before they get better. I say bring ‘em on.

More Than A Feeling
By Boston, 1977

I looked out this morning and the sun was gone
Turned on some music to start my day
I lost myself in a familiar song
I closed my eyes and I slipped away

It’s more than a feeling, when I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)
till I see marianne walk away
I see my marianne walkin away

So many people have come and gone
Their faces fade as the years go by
Yet I still recall as I wander on
As clear as the sun in the summer sky

It’s more than a feeling, when I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)
till I see marianne walk away
I see my marianne walkin away

When Im tired and thinking cold
I hide in my music, forget the day
And dream of a girl I used to know
I closed my eyes and she slipped away
She slipped away. she slipped away.

It’s more than a feeling, when I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)
till I see marianne walk away
I see my marianne walkin away

Well, actually I didn’t. But this is the second time I wrote part of an entire book. The first time was for the Encyclea Guide To Restaurants in Manila (now on its second edition) where I wrote mini-reviews of four restos.

This time, well, I’ll just let my colleague Jim Ayson say it in a news item that was recently posted in his PhilMusic.com website.

Excerpts:

Hey, didn’t we recently declare a moratorium on Eraserheads coverage? Well something new has come in, so we’ll need to dispense with that for the moment.

This time it’s in the form of collection of essays in book form. Entitled "Tikman ang Langit: An Anthology on the Eraserheads" (after the chorus of a commercial performed by the band for Burger Machine), the book features pieces written mostly by a group of young technology journalists (banded together as the group known as Cyberpress), who’ve taken a brief sidetrip from their usual beats to pay homage to the band that performed the soundtrack of their generation.

Edwin Sallan, a Manila Bulletin contributor, also contributes to the project. Edwin used to write for the legendary Jingle Magazine. Completing the circle is editor Ces Rodriguez, who acted as Jingle’s editor-in-chief around the time the Eraserheads was first starting to take off.

The book is now available at Powerbooks and National Book Store branches. Go get your copy.