159: Boombox

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159: Boombox

Title text: And she's gonna feel like a jerk when she realizes it was actually Under Pressure.

Explanation

In the comic, we see Cueball declare his love for Megan in an oft-used setting, paying homage to similar events in classic literature, notably the "balcony scene" from William Shakespeare's book and play Romeo and Juliet, and a similar situation in Cyrano de Bergerac. In the former, Romeo, attempting to woo Juliet, stands beneath her balcony to profess his love for her. In the latter, an inarticulate cadet, Christian, professes his love for Roxanne by arranging to use the words of a fellow soldier, Cyrano, who secretly also loves Roxanne.

The 1989 movie "Say Anything..." contains a modern interpretation of this declaration of love, where John Cusack plays Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" on a boombox outside the house of the girl he likes.

In the comic, we see the xkcd take of that scene. Cueball is holding up a boombox (a self-contained semiportable stereo system, typically with cassette tape or CD player, and complete with integrated large speakers; extreme specimens could weigh up to 12 kg) which is playing music while Cueball declares his love for Megan. She first is startled, embarrassed, then eventually disgusted by the 1990 hit single Ice Ice Baby (Video) by Vanilla Ice playing on the boombox. Cueball then admits he "is not good at this," attempting to recreate the classic romantic scene, but utterly failing to play music suitable for such an event.

The "Under Pressure" reference in the title text refers to the fact that the music used in "Ice Ice Baby" is a sample of the bassline of "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie.

Transcript

[Megan is looking out a second story window at Cueball holding a boombox over his head.]

Cueball: MEGAN!

Woman: Oh my god, I can't believe this is happening.

Cueball: I LOVE YOU!

Woman: Okay, that's great. Wait a second. Is ... is that ... Ice Ice Baby? What the hell?

Cueball: I'm not very good at this.

<Musical Notes>

Trivia

• Vanilla Ice was referenced also in 112: Baring My Heart

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Discussion

The issue date on this comic is not given, as i don't know one. Can anyone fix this? Rikthoff (talk) 18:08, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

This is not a reference to Romeo and Juliet. It is a reference to the 80s movie Say Anything, where John Cusack plays Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" on a boombox outside the house of the girl he likes.