Air (Jazz band) / Air (French band)
New Order (US) / New Order (UK)

My band almost had that problem, but I don't think it's that big of a deal.

There was some shitty prog rock band from Canada called Harlequin.

My band got their name from a book in the early 2000's, these group of assassins called The Harlequins.

I think making it plural changes things.

Also, The Misfits and Misfits. We all know that story though.

Galaxie 500

Apparently there's some county/southern rock band called Unwound. I unfortunately stumbled upon them on Youtube one night.

The Boys (Nebraska power-pop/mid-70s)
The Boys (1977 UK punk/powerpop)

And I bet no one ever used that name before them!

How many bands have been called The Girls in the last 10 years?
Most notably, the more recently hyped one from the SF Bay Area.
And the sorta Devo-meets-The Briefs one from Seattle on Dirtnap.
But neither had as much of a genius stroke as the Midwest Devo contemporaries...
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Girls%2C+The+%287%29

Blitz (1979 US powerpop/"Panic Button" is great!)
Blitz (iconic UK82/oi! band, later a synthy postpunk band)

subhumans - UK
subhumans - canada

Iron Maiden, from the 60's, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XsORGZq0tI
:D

There's that Lois Maffeo band called Courtney Love. It really confused me the first time I listened to the band's cover of Beat Happening's "Don't Mix the Colors" on the Kill Rock Stars compilation LP.

Oh yeah, and there used to be a local band in my small California town that was called Oasis.

uh yeah I bought a 7" by Courtney Love in high school thinking WHOA SHE MADE A SOLO SINGLE only to find it was Lois. Don't get me wrong, Lois is great, but not what I was expecting to hear.

Lots of UK bands called The Rain, and they're all shit. Especially the one that changed their name to Oasis.

I did the same!

Pell Mell - 70's German prog
Pell Mell - 80's Portland instrumentalists

Ministry - early 80s shitty synthpop band.
Ministry - 90s shit "industrial metal" band

Trouble (US) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2nJK_6idQM metal
Trouble (Swe) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v08bROpuQsM <my dad is drumming! :) heavy metal/rock (pretty thin lizzy-ish)

Was it Highlights, Uncrushworthy, or Hey Antoinette?

It was Highlights that I got and still have.

Kevin Sheilds (My Bloody Valentine)
Kevin Sheilds (Eva Aguila)

Run DMT

1) Run DMT is music artist Michael Collins from Baltimore, USA.

Collins gave away his first albums as Run DMT, Bong Voyage and Get Ripped Or Die Trying, for free on the Internet in 2009, and later in the form of an extremely limited cassette edition of 20 on Chocolate Bobka’s Curatorial Club.

Collins withdrew from the scene only to emerged two years later with follow up album Dreams.

www.myspace.com/rundmt
www.culturedealer.com

2) The Texas producer dubstep bros who slapped Collins with a cease and desist after copyrighting the Run DMT name upon releasing one song, Baraka’s Theme, on the Mortal Kombat: Songs Inspired By The Warriors compilation in 2011.

"I'm Goofus, you're Gallant"
Yeah, that would be weird to hear while thinking it was the Courtney Love.