CONTRASTING DICTIONS BY LESS THAN JAKE

Less Than Jake is a Ska-Punk band from Gainesville Florida. They have had a musical career for a decade and a half now. Thier latest CD was released summer of 2008, "LTJ GNV FLA". They are also making re-releases of thier previous albums. For fifteen years Less Than Jake (LTJ) has been traveling the world and participating in shows like Warped Tour and opening for bands like Bon Jovi. Vinnie of LTJ says, " Each record is a snapshot of who the band is and was at the moment of writing and recording". Like many artists, LTJ includes many different dictions, or choices of words, in thier music. Between the old albums and the new there are many contradicting dictions. Two of thier songs, "Dopeman" and "Does the Lion City Still Roar?", exemplify LTJ's ability to produce many songs but using contrasting forms of diction.

Less Than Jake's song "Dopeman" has a very basic form of dicton. The lyrics are very easy to follow and understand. These lyrics do not have very difficultwords and therefore uses a very simple form of diction. "Dopeman dopeman's got another big plan, to sell it to you or anyone he can", this shows the simplicity of the song. LTJ uses rhyming words to make it a catchy song. The song is about somebody persuing a career in the dealing of drugs because it is easy and it is better than minimum wage, "because this is much better than minimum wage. no matter how things work he's still gonna get paid. think about it for a minute more -it's either work at McDonalds or the corner store. a quick money fix from a deal or 2. when a decision comes downwhat would you do?" The words used in the song "Dopeman" are very basic and get the plot, or point, of the song across without requiring much thought or intelect. The entire song uses small, rhyming words and alot of repetion, continuously repeating the line "dopeman dopeman". This song greatly exemplifies simple, basic diction in the writing of music.

On the other hand, LTJ have also written music where the diction is not so incomplex. Their song "Does the Lion City Still Roar?" uses a much more intense form of diction. This song is not so simple. One would have to analyze the lyrics to discover what the song is talking about. The song is not very apparent, "I'll keep my faith alive Cause this is apparent as a parasite I can't believe this sight Streets full of blank faces and junky eyes The streets won't sleep tonight A lullaby for the half-alive The city swings and whines To the double crime of drugs and hard times". These are the first lines of the song and I had no idea what they meant. These lyrics give the listener more room for imagination. This song is obviously not as clear and apparent as "Dopeman".

Songs by the same musician often involve different forms of diction. They do this to target different groups of people. "Dopeman" and "Does the Lion City Still Roar" have contrasting dictions. Contradicting dictions allow songs to vary and be different than eachother.