Boombox
Boombox
[Megan is looking out a second story window at Cueball holding a boombox over his head. Musical Notes are coming out of it.] Cueball: Megan! Megan: Oh my god, I can't believe this is happening. Cueball: I love you! Megan: Okay, that's great. Wait a second. Is... is that... Ice Ice Baby? What the hell? Cueball: I'm not very good at this.

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 play Romeo and Juliet ( act 2, scene 2 ), and a similar situation in Edmond Rostand 's Cyrano de Bergerac ( act 3, scenes 6-7 ). 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 Roxane by arranging to use the words of a fellow soldier, Cyrano, who secretly also loves Roxane.
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.
Parodying this iconic scene ( video ), Cueball is holding up a boombox (a self-contained semiportable stereo system, typically with cassette tape or CD player, and complete with integrated speakers) that is playing music while Cueball declares his love for Megan. She first is startled, embarrassed, then eventually confused by the 1990 hit single Ice Ice Baby ( video ) by Vanilla Ice playing on the boombox. Cueball then admits he is "not very good at this," attempting to recreate the classic romantic scene, but utterly failing to play music suitable for such an event.
The title text mentions that Cueball is actually playing " Under Pressure " ( video ), the 1981 hit song by Queen and David Bowie , but Megan has confused it with "Ice Ice Baby," which samples the bassline from "Under Pressure." It also may be that Cueball is having trouble holding the boombox, hence Cueball being 'under pressure.'
These two songs are again referenced together in 1561: Water Phase Diagram , and "Ice Ice Baby" is also lampooned in 210: 90's Flowchart . It is possible that this is the same couple as mentioned in 112: Baring My Heart , as the creator of that Venn diagram reveals to their romantic partner that their feelings towards their paramour are comparable to their feelings for Vanilla Ice.
This was the first time that the name " Megan " was used in xkcd. The next comic to use it was the much more depressing 215: Letting Go .
[Megan is looking out a second story window at Cueball holding a boombox over his head. Musical Notes are coming out of it.] Cueball: Megan! Megan: Oh my god, I can't believe this is happening. Cueball: I love you! Megan: Okay, that's great. Wait a second. Is... is that... Ice Ice Baby? What the hell? Cueball: I'm not very good at this.
