Do they really expect to be taken seriously?

Wayne Studer, Ph.D, hosts an invaluable site on all things Pet Shop Boys. Besides a host of fascinating lists detailing all kinds of Neil Tennant-Chris Lowe arcana, there's a serious analysis on 10 things the PSB did to kill their American popularity (they scored a number-one hit and four Top 10 followups before disappearing completely from the Top 40 after 1988). I particularly love Reason #3: Neil Tennant yawning on the cover of 1987's Actually:

3. To summarize, Americans don’t like it when their stars yawn. At least not unless they’re not yawning at something that they themselves would think is boring or "uncool." They especially don’t like them yawning, it would appear, directly in their faces, perhaps even at them. Chris's odd expression—halfway between a vacant blank and a scowl—didn’t help matters, either. They’re even wearing tuxedos. Rock stars do not wear tuxedos, unless they’re getting an award from the President, and not always then. "Just what are these guys about, anyway?"