Boombox
by submission
Image text: And she's gonna feel like a jerk when she realizes it was actually Under Pressure.
This submission is from Aaron Hill. Aaron lives in the finger lakes region of NY, where he works as a web developer in higher ed. He has a blag (http://blog.amhill.net) and is on the twitter (@aaronmhill).
This comic is an homage to the classic scene in the John Cusack / Ione Skye movie "Say Anything", a 1980s romantic comedy. In the referenced scene, the protagonist (Cusack) is attempting to win back his romantic interest (Ione Skye) by standing outside of her window, holding up a boombox over his head, while Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" plays through the speakers. (And this, in an awkward fashion very typical of 1980s movies, is itself a reference to a cultural meme of a suitor professing his love by standing outside her window and playing her music...although traditionally he's actually PLAYING an instrument).
In the comic, the love interest, after overcoming the initial shock of hearing the boombox playing outside, asks "Is that Ice Ice Baby?". The image text clarifies that she's "gonna feel like a jerk when she realizes it was actually "Under Pressure"". The latter was a collaborative song done by David Bowie and Queen, and the bassline was co-opted by Vanilla Ice in his song "Ice Ice Baby", though he claims there to be substantive differences.
Guitar Hero
by submission
Image text: And then do it again in a moment now that they're out of Star Power.
This comic provided by Rik 't Hoff. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=516678350
Okay, to start: Guitar Hero is a series of videogames, currently distributed by Activision. Players will use a fake guitar as a controller, which has five buttons on the neck and a switch on the belly. Goal of the game is to (re)play guitar solo's from world famous songs by pressing the correct buttons on the neck and striking the switch at the exact moment the colored “notes” (seen on top) enter the circles on the bottom. Failing to do so, players will gradually lose their “Star Power”, until it reaches zero, at which points the round ends and the player is “boo'ed” by the (virtual crowd).
Megan and Cueball are in a (real-life) band in the comic, with Cueball being the lead guitarist. So, the joke is that when the song they perform will end up in the Guitar Hero series, it will contain an almost impossible solo to play, due to Cueball's “wildly” flail, which undoubtedly will lead to very much notes needed to be “pressed” by the player in a very short time. The image text continues the joke by stating that a second solo will be in the song the moment the player is almost out of “Star Power”, thus most certain ending the round.
The Cure
by submission
Image text: My first try at drawing a real face in years.
This comic provided by Rik 't Hoff. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=516678350
The “real face” is depicting Robert Smith, singer of the 80's band The Cure, famous for songs like “A forest” and “Friday I'm in love” . The joke is therefore very simple: When Robert would sing the above lines of Coldplay's “Clocks”, anyone would know the answer: he's part of The Cure.