My Gen X Playlist: Words – Missing Persons

I took a few Japanese language classes in college, but they all started before 10 am and I had difficulty being totally awake come class time. I passed the classes and picked up a few words and phrases along the way, but not near enough to understand or converse. So, when I left to live in Japan for a year, I was pretty much in trouble. I did latch on to a few words while I was there. The first was daijobu, which means, I’m fine or I’m OK. It is pretty versatile. You can use it as a question – daijobu? which asks, are you OK? My friends and I adjusted it to just daijobe. We liked the sound of our revised version better, but I’m sure it must have confused many Japanese people hear me say this on my train rides into Tokyo.

I also liked the term Ja, mata which means, see you later. It can be broken apart and shortened to just Ja or just mata and carry the same meaning. You say it in an abrupt curt way. I liked the sound of these words, too.

Daijobe and Ja, mata are as close as it comes to having favorite words. I think I liked these mostly because they were useful everyday words in a place where I essentially had no language at all. Other than that, I’ve never had any favorite words.

Missing Persons released Words in 1982. This was on the same debut album as Walking in LA, Destination Unknown and Mental Hopscotch. Not a bad debut album with that lineup. Dale Bozzio had a unique look and sound that exemplified 80’s new wave. I read a perfect description of her look and vocals on Words.

Dale is one of early MTV’s iconic images: white spun-sugar hair colored with bursts of neon, wide swathes of bright makeup, and wrapped in a plexiglass bikini that was more hardware store than haute couture. The look is the result of Dale the visual artist. . . . the band looked like they were from the post-apocalyptic future that the cold war foretold, which was itself also very ‘80s.

Dale sings the verses as a loose assemblage of three different songs: She punctuates opening lines with a dog-toy squeak, rambles through others as if she’s talking to herself, and swings from petulant mockery to snarly vocal fry, all within the melody. It sounds like a movie’s worth of Margo Robbie’s Harley Quinn line readings compressed into one song.

– BestsongSubstack

If you haven’t heard Missing Persons before, I recommend you give them a try. If nothing else, listen to them for the dog-toy squeak. The dog-toy squeak is for real and only she can pull it off.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

Do you hear me?
Do you care?
Do you hear me?
Do you care?

My lips are moving, and the sound's coming out
The words are audible, but I have my doubts
That you realize what has been said
You look at me as if you're in a daze
It's like the feeling at the end of the page
When you realize you don't know what you just read

What are words for when no one listens anymore?
What are words for when no one listens?
What are words for when no one listens?
It's no use talking at all

I might as well go up and talk to a wall
'Cause all the words are having no effect at all
It's a funny thing, am I all alone?
Something has to happen to change the direction
What little filters through is giving you the wrong impression
It's a sorry state, I say to myself

What are words for when no one listens anymore?
What are words for when no one listens?
What are words for when no one listens?
It's no use talking at all

Do you hear me?
Do you care?
Do you hear me?
Do you care?

Let me get by
Over your dead body
Hope to see you soon
When will I know?
Doors three feet wide with no locks open
Walking always backwards in the faces of strangers
Time could be my friend
But it's less than nowhere now
It's less than nowhere now
It's less than nowhere now, nowhere now

Pursue it any further and another thing you'll find
Not only are they deaf and dumb, they could be going blind
No one notices, I think I'll dye my hair blue
Media overload bombarding you with action
It's getting near impossible to cause distraction
Someone answer me before I pull out the plug

What are words for when no one listens anymore?
What are words for when no one listens?
What are words for when no one listens?
There's no use talking at all

What are words for when no one listens anymore?
What are words for when no one listens?
What are words for when no one listens?
There's no use talking at all

Do you hear me?
Do you care?
Do you hear me?
Do you care? (Tell me, what are words for?)

Do you hear me? (So tell me, what are words for?)
Do you care? (Tell me, what are words for?)
Do you hear me? (So tell me, what are words for?)
Do you care? (So tell me, what are words for?)

Do you hear me? (So tell me, what are words for?)
Do you care? (So tell me, what are words for?)
Do you hear me? (So tell me, what are words for?)
Do you care? (So tell me, what are words for?)