"Mean to Me" is the debut single of rock band

Crowded House Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later ban ...

, released in 1986. The single was only released as a 7" vinyl, and was released two months prior to the group's self-titled debut album, ''

'', on which the song appears. It peaked at No. 26 in Australia. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA) between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988. At the 1986 Countdown Australian Music Awards the song was nominated for Best Debut Single. The song was often performed as the opening song for concerts, and it was most notably the first song performed at the group's final performance in 1996's

Farewell to the World ''Farewell to the World'' is a 1996 concert by rock group Crowded House, which was released on video in 1996 and on CD and DVD in 2006. The concert was recorded on the outside footsteps of the Sydney Opera House, as a charity event to raise fun ...

concert. It mentions in passing the town of

Te Awamutu Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipa District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it. Te Awamutu is located some south of Hamilto ...

. The music video presents a longer intro showing the band enjoying themselves, and then playing the song in a warehouse. Repeatedly throughout the video, the band members continuously mouth "I love you" shown by the words in the video saying, "I LOVE YOU." The song later appeared on Crowded House's greatest hits compilation ''

Recurring Dream A recurring dream is a dream which is experienced repeatedly over a long period. They can be pleasant or nightmarish and unique to the person and their experiences. Common themes in recurring dreams Through psychological analyses and studies, s ...

''.

Composition

The lyrics largely concern an American

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built a ...

fan who had written to

Neil Finn Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician who is known for being a member of Crowded House, Split Enz (which he co-fronted with brother Tim), and Fleetwood Mac. Finn rose to prominence in the late ...

's parents, hoping to meet him. Finn said, "The verse was written on a tour of New Zealand I did with

Dave Dobbyn Sir David Joseph Dobbyn (born 3 January 1957) is a New Zealand musician, singer–songwriter and record producer. In his early career he was a member of the rock group Th' Dudes and was the main creative force in pop band DD Smash. Since then he ...

under the absolutely shocking moniker of the Party Boys. I met her and had 10 minutes with her. Then I came back later and she was dancing with

Gary McCormick Gary McCormick is a New Zealand poet, radio and television personality, debater and raconteur. McCormick began writing poetry in 1968. His published volumes are Gypsies (with Jon Benson, 1974), Naked and Nameless (1976), Poems for the Red Engi ...

, so I wrote those lines in which I did intimate they'd got it on. She bailed me up in LA about three years later and was most upset. She swears she didn't. I felt chastened by that."

Reception

Junkee Junkee is an Australian popular culture and news website run by new media company Junkee Media. It covers various topics including film, university, food, TV, politics, travel, career, health and Internet culture. Its target demographic is 18- to ...

said, "The hangover of

is still present, most notably in the song’s wigged-out keyboard detour. What "Mean to Me" accomplishes outside of that, is establishing key touchstones of what will go on to be inextricable parts of the Crowded House sound. Both Finn’s strident pop sensibilities and his unique lyrical sense of place."

Track listing

Track 1 by

. Track 2 by Finn and

Eddie Rayner Anthony Edward Charles Rayner (born 19 November 1952) is a New Zealand musician who spent twelve years as a keyboardist in the band Split Enz. He has also played in the groups Orb, Space Waltz, Crowded House, The Makers, The Angels in 1986-198 ...

. Both tracks from the ''Crowded House'' album. # "Mean to Me" - 3:17 # "Hole in the River" - 4:02

Charts

Notes

{{authority control Crowded House songs 1986 debut singles Songs written by Neil Finn Song recordings produced by Mitchell Froom Capitol Records singles 1986 songs