Missing Persons — Missing Persons

Missing Persons was one of those bands that suddenly made a splash thanks to MTV – otherwise I likely never would have heard of them. Their video for “Words” was in heavy rotation in those early days when music videos were the only thing MTV showed. Quirky, new wavey, fun, they were required listening.

This four-song EP was originally released in 1980 by the band, and then this reissue was put out in 1982 when they got a contract with Capitol. Three of the songs are classics in my life, appearing on key cassette compilations, and every note sounds like 1982 and life in our apartment at 163B Marshall Street. Synth pop was really just catching fire at that point and hadn’t been run into the ground – it sounded absolutely fresh at the time. I’ve always had fond memories of these songs (except “I Like Boys,” which was meh) but, to be honest, I hardly ever listen to Missing Persons. If I were hearing this for the first time, I probably wouldn’t care. “Mental Hopscotch” still stands out as a solid song, but there’s a limit to how many synth stabs and quirky vocal tics one wants to hear.

One bit of weirdness on this “Mini LP” – the label clearly says it’s 45 RPM, which isn’t too unusual for a disc with only two songs to a side. But, in reality, it plays at 33. And I forget that every time.

Another bit of weirdness is that my copy appears to be an import from New Zealand. That makes me think I might have bought it at Modern Records, near Westcott Street in Syracuse, instead of Desert Shore; Modern did a lot more business in new imports.

Here’s the video for “Words,” in case you wondered what passed for innovative and amazing in 1982: