I guess we shall see pretty soon the result of Trey’s new songwriting when Tour starts, for all we know Trey could have some Super Insanity Jam Songs up his sleeve… 
Whether any of us think Trey’s new stuff is good or bad, we can all take slight comfort in the fact that Trey is writing music for Phish in 2010 after a kick ass 2009…
omigosh hank your new name is so kewl. 
I like some of the jams that come out of KDF and Light definitely shines (get it?). Stealing Time got huge last year too. So yeah, those are good songs and have the potential to be great songs in the Phish repetoire, IMO. But I don’t think this conversation started as a comprehensive overview of whether ALL of Trey’s new material is superb or not.
If you’re surprised by the love for Mike, maybe you should take listen to him more. 
Maybe we’re talking apples and oranges, though. I don’t think Mike is a “better” musician than Trey. But I do feel that Mike has a better track record when it comes to original, unique, interesting musical output. With Trey it’s hit or miss for me… some of his material is great, some of it is utterly banal crap. But he’s much more prolific, it seems. So maybe that’s just a product of the volume of output. He may be spitting out songs left and right, just throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks.
With Mike, even if a tune doesn’t immediately grab me, it’s still interesting and I’ll likely enjoy it more and more as I hear it more. I wonder if his approach to writing is more methodical; maybe he just spends a lot more time refining his tunes. Some of Trey’s songs can get bland and ordinary, like Kevin said - and really sound like they could have been written by anyone. Mike’s music is never boring to me, it’s always different and it always sounds uniquely his. I think that’s why you see a lot of love for the Cactus.
Anyone think that Page should be talked about a bit more in the writing area? 
Btw, I think it goes without saying that we are all thrilled that they’re all writing music and performing together as Phish. We’re all Phish fans, so I assume we’re all happy about that.
For me, that happiness is not so blinding that I don’t form opinions about WHAT they’re playing, though. Maybe that sounds ungrateful - like I should just lap up whatever they produce because OMG PHISH IS BACK - but to me, part of being a Phish fan is accepting my own honest feelings about their music. It’s okay for them to have some songs I don’t like. They’re a better, more diverse band for it. I’d rather they played such a variety of music that some of it doesn’t appeal to me, than only play songs that I enjoy. That’d get boring quick. (Plus, when would I go pee if it wasn’t for tunes like TTE, Bug, or the first half of Chalkdust??)
After his last album, no. 
This. I love Page’s singing and playing, and he’s a skilled arranger. But writing melodies and lyrics and developing unique musicial concepts aren’t his strong suit, IMO.
I still think Page should put together a totally different kind of band and play big-band jazz standards or something, he has a real affinity for those classic tunes. It’d enable him to have a personal pet project on the side without the pressures of creating as much original music himself.
As one of the bigger critics in this thread, I just want to say “Stealing Time” & “Ocelot” get my votes for Best Phish Tunes In Years.
And I love that TTE is musically ambitious … but in the same way that simple can be great, complex can be crap. Besides, my gripe with that tune is its lyrics.
I haven’t heard Page’s album. Or half of Trey’s solo albums. Or Inside Out. Totally way way more interested than the whole band.
In some ways I think Trey would be better off if he just accepted his musical gifts lie in writing weird proggy stuff, irreverent material and high energy white dude funk. Trey and Marshall’s strengths lie in making weird “word salads”. I’m sure they fancy themselves as Neil Youngs/Lou Reeds but it’s just not quite them. They have their ups and downs and I’m not saying the newer stuff is bad, though.
I wish they would sort of revisit an approach to writing that yielded stuff like “Theme From the Bottom” and “Free” that seem to strike a balance between musical complexity and simplicity as well as meaningful lyrics. I’d also like to see some more “Tube” styled jams. So if anyone talks to Trey just let him know that and I’m sure he’ll get right on it.
I kinda feel that the out pouring of love for Mike’s songwriting is a bit of a backlash to some of the crap trey writes. I mean I like mike songs and they are weird and phishy but his tunes… aside from Mike’s song, aren’t jam vehicles… do you really want a 25 minute Round Room?.. how 'bout a 30 minute Weigh? It’s just a different writing style and if the majority of songs were written by him phish would be a completely different band imo. I dig his tunes and they are refreshing but even the crappiest of trey songs can eventually rock your balls off.
Super Insanity Jam Songs…
wait, wait, so you guys are telling me you DON’T want joy to be happy and step outside her room? 
Song lyrics? I’m sorry…I’m too busy rocking out to the music to care about the lyrics. Boy Man God Shit.
I love the YEM lyrics.
For me the lyrical content is really important. It’s so much harder for me to dig a song if I can’t appreciate its lyrics.
You really gotta get rid of that sig, man. It has to load every time I pull up a page your posts are on. Kind of annoying for something that doesn’t really add any content.
I agree. However, the new one is better. Especially with Amy Pond 
Try this. Go to…
User Control Panel > Board Preferences > Edit Display Options > click “NO” on Display signatures
The world be be a much better place if there were more Dr. Who-related animated signatures and avatars.
sweet!
to go back on topic, sorta… I’ve felt that RR is their best album lyrically. Song like Bathtub Gin, when listened to as a non-fan, are stupid… along with Reba etc… but within the context of phish they totally work.