Crowded House

I have a very special affinity for Crowded House. Firstly, they made their debut in the US when I was in high school, and I spent many hours riding the subway or moping around like a typical teenager listening to their self-titled album. To this day it would be one of my Desert Island Discs if ever asked.
Second, when I look back now, it seems that the lyrics of one of the songs on the album - Mean to Me - would foreshadow a path I would take 20 years later:

She came all the way from America
She had a blind date with destiny
And the sound of Te Awamutu
Had a truly sacred ring...

Thirdly, and sadly, my favorite Crowded House member (and sometimes Split Enz-er) in high school - Paul Hester - took his own life a couple of years ago. While it had been many years since my teenage adoration of him/them, it was still quite a blow. What made it even more profound was that I was living in Wellington at the time, and attributed their band to the beginning of my love affair with NZ. They introduced me to this faraway place called New Zealand, and in essence, are partly responsible for bringing me there.