Irish trio JJ72 announced its breakup yesterday, sparking this tribute from Tim. Said tribute also inspired today's theme. Dead Bands. Perhaps this bands will never make like Lazarus and rise from the beyond, but that is probably best considering how hit-or-miss nostalgic reunion tours can be.

One Dove "White Love"
(song removed)

One Dove was a dance trio from Scotland, which automatically made them cool because, as we all should know, Scots really kick ass on the musical battlefield. This is the album version, as it appeared on the band's only release Morning Dove White. If you are of a certain age, you probably heard it regularly on KROQ and MARS FM in Los Angeles. You can find used/sealed copies on Amazon. Then, if you haven't already, you should make your way through Dot Allison's high quality solo catalogue.

James "Just Like Fred Astaire"
(song removed)

This might actually be my favorite James song. At the very least, it's up there with "Hymn From a Village" and "Laid." Taken from the band's 1999 album Millionaires, this number actually wasn't considered a stronpoint for the band. In fact, it was the beginning of the downward spiral that led to the groups dissolution a few years later, or so says Wikipedia in the aforelinked article. This album was not released in the States, so you have to look around for used (maybe some new) import copies. I think that this was a stupid move, but I guess it makes sense. By 1999, everyone was going nuts over teen-crap and rap-rock. No room left on the charts for ballads that might even put Simply Red hits to shame.

The La's "Timeless Melody"
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For those of us who grew up as Anglophiles in the U.S., this was the other La's song. We would hear it occasionally on the radio, see the video every now and then on 120 Minutes, but it didn't reach the level of popularity as "There She Goes." More importantly, it was not featured prominently in So I Married an Axe Murderer, which was one of the funniest movies of the decade (right up there with PCU and Wayne's World).
You probably already know about The La's because there is a behind-the-scenes tale that runs annually in some British music magazine. Plus, there is a book that looks like it might be good, but I haven't read it, so I wouldn't know. I think this is only still in print as an import. What's wrong with U.S.? How come I always have to pay import prices for stuff I like? So, not cool.