should 2009 be the year for songwriting??

[jking]

in talking with several friends (after making them listen to the NYE Rufus), the one consistent complaint seems to be songwriting - a lack of memorable, whistleable hooks, and non-silly lyrics. now, i realize that writing the next \'i shall be released\' isn\'t what they\'re going for. everyone gives the band mad props for playing ability, but folks keep saying that, while the shredding is great, they\'re not particularly drawn to listen since they don\'t care about the songs.

when you think about the great bands, they all have songs with good hooks and a line or two, or a chorus, that really draw folks in and keep bouncing around inside folks\' heads. this isn\'t to say that the songs should all become short, concise things with long jams tagged on, but if you\'re gonna have an intricately composed song, why have the one portion of the vocals that really stick out be \'happy tickle toes\'?? (i know what the actual lyric is, but this is what anyone who hasn\'t read it hears). that one line undermines the rest of the song that someone, up until then, would have been taking seriously.

and yes, joe, i know that zappa and most prog bands don\'t have many hooks and enjoy silly lyrics aplenty, but i\'m not talking about them, i\'m talking about the breakfast, who, as far as i know, are still interested in widening their audience.

now, this isn\'t an indictment of the band\'s songwriting abilities. i, for one, find myself humming various portions of various songs all the time. but i\'m talking about how the band can appeal to more folks who aren\'t gonna sit down and immerse themselves in the breakfast so that they can understand why and when the changes are coming before they ever get out and pay to see them. since the band isn\'t going to have to spend the time planning tours this year, why not spend that time on songwriting and vocal lessons? they\'ve been getting better, so why not further that progress?? it just seems, to me, that if there\'s more time to be spent \'behind the scenes\' (ie, not on the road), why not use this time to progress the band from great song players to great song writers, too?

of course, maybe i\'m wildly wrong, so, feel free to tell me to sod off, if needs be....

[Yoda]

This has been the million dollar question for a while now.  I\'m going to make some assumptions here and I cuold and probably am wrong one some or all of what I\'m about to say... but I\'m sure that there is a lot going on behind the scenes that we don\'t see like songwriting and vocal training, but we need to take into account the following:

- Does the band want to go in that direction of vocals before jams?
- Do the members have time outside of the current schedule plus other obligations (ie... other jobs, family, etc...)
- Does the band have the cash to pay for vocal training.

I personally feel that opening up the fanbase by changing the style a little bit is probably a good thing, but there are 4 guys plus whatever management that have to agree to those decisions before it can start to happen.  As for now, I\'ll enjoy the music for what it is, especially with Jordan back.

[ds673488]

should it- absolutely....will it- probably not....

[FreeSpirit]

The songs that first got me hooked on the Breakfast were "Beef Barley," "Phaddy Boom Baddy" and GBFBITS.  But, I\'m no expert so... :idunno:

[kindm's]

I think some of the "newer" tunes had this thought in mind when they were penned.

Honey Butter
Tricky Ways

to name a few.

[obsession600]

- Does the band want to go in that direction of vocals before jams?
- Do the members have time outside of the current schedule plus other obligations (ie... other jobs, family, etc...)
- Does the band have the cash to pay for vocal training.
 As for now, I\'ll enjoy the music for what it is, especially with Jordan back.

Not vocals before jams, rather vocals on par with the jams. Or at least a step above what they are.
I would think that the band members might be able to work out an exchange of services for some vocal training as opposed to shelling out straight cash. Perhaps guitar/drum/piano lessons might interest a vocal teacher.
It is a pleasure to have Jordan\'s voice back in the mix. Drunk Monk Bar!

[jking]

r~ those are all examples of more common song structures, though, all of which also have a catchy hook/chorus. so, yeah, i\'d expect folks to like those songs first (unless they can\'t get past the repetition and childlikeness of the gbfbits refrain, or haven\'t been able to figure out what BB is really about, thus not getting the chorus and not real sure why a band would sing about soup). but since only BB was played before jordan showed back up, they didn\'t have a chance to grab new folks.

i\'m not saying every song has to be eppy 2 great, but having some more songs that lyrically and/or structurely engage new listeners can\'t be bad, can it?

and i agree, kindm~ there are some tunes where this seems like the idea behind them. i\'m just hoping that even more of these types of songs are brought out this year. i think of tlg, who obviously have better than mediocre playing abilities, but who have really strong songs/lyrics/structures. those (and tons of touring) are what attract the crowds. the jams out of the songs are icing on the cake, not the sole purpose of the song. now, i love nonstop jamming and haven\'t played a complete song by myself in years, but if we\'re talking about bringing in new fans, the fact that most people are listening for lyrics and structure more than the jams can\'t be overstated....

all of this is in my humblest of opinions!

[wildcoyote]

http://thebreakfast.info/forum/showthread.php?t=8922&highlight=future+peek

[Yoda]

In my opinion, there are a lot of great songs that could bring in new folks that might not be deep into the jam scene:

Bugs / Doughboy / Fresh Cut / Good Things / HLH / Honey Butter / TLATG / LOTG / Love Lake / Psygn / QMATM / Taboo / Vera Street / Vermont Song

Some of these tunes are/can be jammed out, but there are some gems like QMATM and Vera Street that are never played and these are the tunes that would turn on someone that not yet ready for a "30 minute" Buquebus :wink:.

[Igziabeher]

i think the band\'s writing has slowly evolved, just has slowed down given the constant lineup changes.  look at old songs compared to future peek, living in a dangledoo, or rush; clearly it isn\'t the same old song and dance.

[jking]

oh, i definitely agree, igz and yoda.....

i\'d just like to see a real focus on it this year, is all.

[Yoda]

I\'m sure that they\'re working on it in one way or another whether or not we see it in the day-to-day activities.

[ds673488]

every person who sees the breakfast once or twice talks about one song in particular EVERY TIME: late and the great...probably the best lyrically/vocally/guitar solo song to attract newbies

[Gfunk]

more new tunes!

[siflandollie]

I do hope to see a new slew of songs comin out in 2009.  what these songs will sound like is up to the band, but some new tunes is what they need IMO.  

Jking it sounds like you are hoping the band writes some more digestable tunes which is understandable.  I think that is a reason that some people are turned off by the band.  At the same time, however, I think that it is also a reason people are interested in the band.  The music is interesting and doesn\'t rely on being catchy/poppy/whatever.  Reading the show reviews on .info most peoples highlights are the queeb jam or the segue from one song to another.  I agree with you though, some more digestable songs would probably lead to more fans.  i guess my concern is that in an attempt to write more catchy songs the band would come off as insincere.  I don\'t want to compare them to phish but if the breakfast came out with an equivalent of "farmhouse" i would gag.  

In conclusion, working on vocals will not hurt the band.  Writing catchy songs will not hurt the bands popularity.  They better be good though.