Jerkass Woobie: Stanley is not a particularly likeable man - he seems to enjoy tormenting Meg out of spite, and it's implied that he's somewhat of a shady character who may indeed be guilty of some wrongdoing. However, it's hard not to sympathize with Stanley after the psychological (and perhaps unseen physical) torture Goldberg and McCann put him through, to the point where he isn't even able to speak when he's taken away.
"The Friend Catcher" is considered one of Rowland S. Howard's greatest achievements in guitar feedback and one of the seminal moments of the band becoming The Birthday Party. The lyrics?
She, by the hair of my chinny chin chin HEE haw HEE haw HEE haw HEE haaaaaw!
"Figure of Fun":
And I'm impressed by everyone But I impress no-one It's irritating!''
"A Dead Song" sounds like Igor trying to sing at a concert while writing the lyrics on the fly and simultaneously forgetting them.
Nick's occasional comments during live shows could be quite funny.
Nick: (Trying not to laugh) "Sex horror\Sex vamp- You win, you got the stick!"
From Live 1981-82:
"Thank you, I love your haircuts as well."
Hilarious in Hindsight: Nick Cave, the wild young man singing songs like "Release the Bats" and "Sonny's Burning," became part of the Australian delegation to the coronation of King Charles III.
"Release the Bats", much to the band's chagrin, was an indie hit and became one of the seminal vampire songs alongside "Bela Lugosi's Dead" that Goth Rock fans latched onto.
"Shivers" was this for the band's The Boys Next Door incarnation and for Rowland S. Howard overall as a songwriter and musician.
Signature Style: Wailing madman vocals of sex and violence over walls of sharp guitars and feedback, driven by a thick, sleazy bass and sharp, crisp drums. Or: strip club music in hell.
involved him smacking the audience with a stick, and eventually they grabbed it out of his hand.