A guy and a girl singing together?

June 6, 2009 7:07 AM

I am a music ignoramus. But, I know I really like a man and a woman (a guy and a girl) singing together. Call and response, harmony, part of the lyrics or not, I think it's really amazing when a masculine voice and feminine voice are working together.

I like Andrew Bird, Bonnie Prince Billy, Dent May, ...and Avril Lavigne. (Work with me, here.)

What are some amazing bands or just songs with a male and a female lead singer, where the music can be subtle, epic, ambient, soaring, mournful, bittersweet, peaceful, emotionally intimate or just with an awesome and/or racy and/or in-your-face pop hook?

Bonus #1: If you have additional info about whether the music is a team effort, who the creative force is, is there a friendship or relationship outside of the music, etc., that would be very cool.

Bonus #2: Is there a song called "Sleeping Together" where one of the lyrics is "like two notes, sustained"?

P.S. Previously. Noted.

posted by zeek321 to media & arts (79 comments total)

I like the Weepies, a husband-wife duo. Also try a few songs by Zolof The Rock & Roll Destroyer, especially "Ask." A favorite because of the harmony and the call-response. And "She Has a Girlfriend Now" By Reel Big Fish for those same reasons.
posted by potatopeople at 7:13 AM on June 6

Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan on Rice's albums 'O' and '9'
posted by Elmore at 7:14 AM on June 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

Tom Waits and Bette Middler - 'Perfect Strangers' - no, really! Corny but charming.
posted by wowbobwow at 7:15 AM on June 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

Lovage is the pairing of singers Mike Patton (Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, the Dillinger Escape Plan) and Jennifer Charles (Elysian Fields) with turntables by Kid Koala (Gorillaz, Deltron 3030, a few solo albums) and produced by Dan the Automator (Gorillaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Bombay the Hard Way).

I'm a die-hard electronica fan who kind of cringes at the sound of the human voice, and Lovage still makes me want to get laid. Patton has a really deep voice, Ms. Charles is sultry as hell, and I love Kid Koala and Mr. Merriweather.
posted by Juliet Banana at 7:18 AM on June 6 [5 favorites has favorites]

Mates of State! One of my favorite bands. Pretty much all their songs are like this. To a lesser extent, Matt and Kim, also, She and Him.

As for particular songs, "Nothing Better" by The Postal Service, "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" by Stars, and "Sleep all Summer" by Crooked Fingers (and the phenomenal cover by The National and St. Vincent).
posted by AaRdVarK at 7:22 AM on June 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

Dean and Britta (Dean Wareham of Galaxie 500, Luna). They are married. I think its pretty obvious that Dean is the creative force. I'd also point out that Dean (in Luna) often duets on a cover song of some sort. The one I'm thinking of specifically is 'Bonny and Clyde' with Laetitia Sadier (of Stereolab) on 'Penthouse'.
posted by elendil71 at 7:27 AM on June 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

An oldie but a goodie--James Taylor and Carly Simon singing "Mockingbird".
posted by bookmammal at 7:29 AM on June 6

It's not pop, but Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong are pretty great.
posted by puckish at 7:31 AM on June 6

I can't imagine people not liking the music of Great Northern (myspace link). They get extra points for a Twin Peaks reference.

Also, their music is a collaborative effort. The band is really just the two of them, but they obviously have touring musicians when they go out and play shows. My favorite of their "duets" is the song "Telling Lies" (which you can listen to in full for free here). Try that song out. If you like it, then you will probably like the rest of their music.

I've also met them a number of times and they are really nice and friendly people. That should be a bonus in anyone's book. I'm not sure if the two of them are "together". I keep getting conflicting signals as to whether that's the case. Maybe they just keep to themselves? Not sure.
posted by King Bee at 7:35 AM on June 6

Low! Go buy some early Low albums right now.

I wish I could find a better version of it than this, but "Two Step" is one of my very favorite songs.
posted by Bookhouse at 7:43 AM on June 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

Oh, and for your bonus question, the two singers in Low are married.
posted by Bookhouse at 7:44 AM on June 6

Low, Ida, and Julie Doiron and the Wooden Stars are boy girl sing song aces.
posted by bunnytricks at 7:47 AM on June 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

Ray Charles and Betty Carter. About as good as it gets.
posted by Sailormom at 7:52 AM on June 6

The Robert Plant and Allison Krauss project Raising Sand.

On the Bright Eyes album I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, Emmylou Harris sings with Conor Oberst on 3 songs: We Are Nowhere and It's Now, Another Travelin' Song, and Landlocked Blues. Well worth checking out.
posted by The Deej at 7:53 AM on June 6

Virtually the entirety of Gram Parsons' "Grievous Angel" is him singing harmony with Emmy Lou Harris.

Harris has done other good male/female harmony work, most recently with Mark Knopfler on "All The Roadrunning."

If you fancy the above suggestions, you might also like the Alison Kraus/Robert Plant duet CD "Raising Sand."

And finally, you might dig this.
posted by saladin at 7:55 AM on June 6

There have been some good indiepop suggestions so far (Mates of State, Stars [though I'd put forth The Comeback EP], Matt & Kim, Dean & Britta [though Dean's a prick], She & Him on like 2 songs) but what I honestly suggest you give a listen is the Emmylous Harris-produced Gram Parsons tribute Return of the Grievous Angel. It's a little twangy throughout, but there's a good lineup of bands (Beck, Wilco, Whiskeytown, Elvis Costello, The Preteners, more) and Emmylou joins many of them to duet through the songs. It's a labor of love for Harris, who was good friends and collaborated with Parsons during his career.

One of my favorite duet songs (sadly, mostly ruined by too many holidays spent in retail) is Baby, It's Cold Outside. My preferred version these days is by Howe Gelb as Arizona Amp & Alternator along with Maria Lorette Friis, though I see there's a version by Zooey Deschanel and Leon Redbone from the Elf Soundtrack as well. The AAAA album has a couple more great duets on it; Blue Blue Marble Girl and Loretta & The Insect World.
posted by carsonb at 7:58 AM on June 6

Oh snap! Good call, saladin. =)
posted by carsonb at 7:58 AM on June 6

I really like Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood's 60s & 70s collaborations--Some Velvet Morning is their (deeply weird) classic duet, but they made a lot of wonderful weird pop tunes. Down from Dover and Love is Strange are two great covers they did.

Along similar lines, you might look into Serge Gainsbourg's work with Brigitte Bardot -- Bonnie and Clyde is amazing amazing amazing (and if that video doesn't get you worked up you may want to visit a physician.) I'm not quite as fond of his collaborations with then-girlfriend Jane Birkin, but I suppose that fulfills the second part of your question. Plus, y'know, they're totally filthy.
posted by kelseyq at 8:16 AM on June 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

"This Mess We're In" by P J Harvey from her album Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. She wrote the song and plays the guitar on it. She asked Thom Yorke of Radiohead to sing lead on it. He sings the verses, she sings the chorus (while he harmonizes), and there's a lovely call and response part.
posted by Houyhnhnm at 8:22 AM on June 6 [2 favorites has favorites]

Durr. Those are both mentioned in the linked question. How about the adorable Diskettes, shimmery & spaced-out Brightblack Morning Light, or indie rock behemoths Yo La Tengo?
posted by kelseyq at 8:34 AM on June 6

The New Pornographers
posted by HumuloneRanger at 8:44 AM on June 6

Probably closer to what you're looking for, The White Stripes.
posted by HumuloneRanger at 8:47 AM on June 6

(Mostly these are one-off tracks, since I don't listen to a ton of bands that have both male and female singers!)

The Jesus and Mary Chain don't usually feature female singers, but their song "Sometimes Always" (a duet with Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star) is terrific. There's also a great cover by the Brakes, featuring the Pipettes.

The Only Ones' cover of "Fools" (originally by Johnny Duncan) is lovely.

Manic Street Preachers' song "Little Baby Nothing" featuring Traci Lords is surprisingly good.

Belle and Sebastian's "Lazy Line Painter Jane" features Monica Queen.

The Decemberists have some excellent songs of this very nature - I'm thinking mostly of "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)", but there are others!
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 8:49 AM on June 6 [2 favorites has favorites]

I also recommend Low. Listen to "Words" or "Lazy" from their first album, I Could Live in Hope.

Also, Yo La Tengo are wonderful. Their discography can be a little intimidating because of how large it is (they've been together since 1984). Listen to "The Race Is On Again" from their album I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass and "You Can Have It All" from their album And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out. Both of those songs feature male and female vocals, courtesy of the drummer and guitarist who are married.
posted by Houyhnhnm at 8:50 AM on June 6

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. The clip is from the movie Once. (They met during the filming of Once and dated shortly thereafter.)
2nding The Weepies (Deb Talan and Steve Tannen). Read about how their relationship started.
2nding Damien Rice w/ Lisa Hannigan.
Pete Yorn - The Man (w/ Natalie Maines)
Rosie Thomas - The One I Love, Say Hello, Let It Be Me, Paper Doll, probably more (the aforementioned w/ Denison Witmer or Sufjan Stevens)
G Love - Beautiful (w/ Tristan Prettyman)
posted by mathlete at 8:50 AM on June 6

It's a Beautiful Day
posted by torquemaniac at 8:52 AM on June 6

Check out Jack White's collaboration with Loretta Lynn, Van Lear Rose. Especially "Portland, Oregon."
posted by oinopaponton at 8:53 AM on June 6

The White Stripes are especially good if you're looking for extramusical biographical dirt. (Short version: they were married, split up before they got famous but kept playing together, tried to pass themselves off for a while as brother and sister before being called out on it by old fans who knew them back when, and finally owned up to the truth. Lots of their lyrics allude to this, but usually so obliquely that you wouldn't notice unless you knew to look for it.)

Also, the Pixies don't do yer standard pop duets, but they're great if you like the masculine/feminine contrast. A lot of their appeal comes from playing Frank Black's hyperactive yelping crazy-dude routine off of Kim Deal's sweet, serene crooning. Very yang-vs.-yin, if that makes any sense.
posted by nebulawindphone at 9:07 AM on June 6

This is a great thread.

One song you might like is "The Man in Me" by Bonny Prince Billy and Cheyenne Mize, off of the 'Lousville is for Lovers vol. 9' which was a great duet by someone you mentioned as enjoying. You can hear it on an NPR all songs podcast from a month or two ago.

Rilo Kiley has a few duets between the singers: Papillion comes to mind which is a cute song with a good build up.
posted by Large Marge at 9:11 AM on June 6

The New Pornographers have different band members take the lead on different songs, but mixed-sex harmony is a key component of their sound. Also, the little-known but kick-ass versatile rock band Damone tends to give their sweet-voiced female lead the verses, but they harmonize on most of the choruses. And they have the high school angst and nostalgia of Avril down pat. On preview, nthing the New Pornographers (but I linked a different, poppier song).
posted by alygator at 9:14 AM on June 6

X, with (then) husband/wife Exene Cervenka and John Doe. They were collaborators as well as co-singers. (She remarried to Vigor Mortenson, if that's of any interest.) The early 80's LA punk scene. They also sang together as The Knitters (and still do?).

Also The Handsome Family.

Second Belle and Sebastian; also the Decembrists.

I too am a big fan of male/female vocals.

How about Marvin Gaye and Tammi Tyrell? They recorded a whole album of duets.

I'll try to think of some more . . .
posted by emhutchinson at 9:14 AM on June 6

John Prine has a great album of duets (title track).
posted by harmfulray at 9:16 AM on June 6

The Moldy Peaches fit the bill, but you'll probably either love em or hate em.
posted by backwards guitar at 9:17 AM on June 6

This Damone track has a better example of the male-female harmonizing throughout the song and better audio quality as well.
posted by alygator at 9:19 AM on June 6

Top of my head:

The Pixies, Arcade Fire, Vaselines, Yo La Tengo, Broken Social Scene, Fairport Convention, Dylan's "Desire", some Pogues, some Fleetwood Mac.

Great punk stuff too: Crass and X.
posted by Beardman at 9:25 AM on June 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

(Oh yeah, and my friends in Elfin Saddle are a couple who share vocal duties, re: your first bonus point.)
posted by Beardman at 9:28 AM on June 6

Definitely The New Pornographers.
posted by Benjy at 9:29 AM on June 6

racy and/or in-your-face pop hook?

Oh yeah, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart.
posted by Beardman at 9:30 AM on June 6

BONUS QUESTION!
mp3 sample here.
posted by alygator at 9:31 AM on June 6

The Bats! Especially Treason.
posted by quatsch at 9:41 AM on June 6

"Ballad of Tom Jones" by Space and Cerys Matthews from Catatonia.

For a little more of a folky/country vibe (and I'm definitely not a huge country fan), try some of the Porter Wagoner/Dolly Parton stuff; I like "The Last Thing On My Mind" (and oh my LORD, even for Dolly she's got quite a look in that clip). According to Wikipedia, Dolly and Porter duetted on the Porter Wagoner show for 7 years or so and "I Will Always Love You" is about the breakup of their professional relationship.

And, of course, June and Johnny.

I found Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer kind of serendipitously, but they're pretty tight. Sadly, Dave died in 2002, but Tracy still sings. "236-6132" is the first song I'd heard, which I immediately fell in love with. (Yes, that's a YouTube special for the visuals; it was the only one I could find.)
posted by Madamina at 9:43 AM on June 6

Off the top of my head, I love these M/F songs:

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings: Elvis Presley blues (bluegrass close harmony)

Espers: Meadow (psychedelic neo-folk)

Tindersticks: Travel light (lovelorn dark lounge)

Esther & Abi Ofarim - Cinderella Rockefeller (Classic kitsch)

And pretty much my all-time favourite duet ever:
Led Zepplin and Sandy Denny: Battle of Evermore
posted by freya_lamb at 10:20 AM on June 6

Elvis and Ann Margret.

Hot!
posted by merocet at 10:24 AM on June 6

• Dead Can Dance - "Nierika", "Song of the Dispossessed", and many more.
• Johnny Cash's work with his devoted and brilliantly talented wife, June Carter ("Jackson" is a fine example).
• Jefferson Airplane - "Volunteers", "Martha" /Jefferson Starship - "Miracles", "Ride the Tiger" (not Starship, though).
• Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue singing "Where the Wild Roses Grow" (that link won't last - Cave's catalogue is brutally protected on YouTube) - if you get the CD "Murder Ballads", you'll also get Cave singing "Henry Lee" with PJ Harvey.
• Thompson Twins
• Ella Fitzgerald w/ Louis Armstrong - "Cheek to Cheek", "Summertime", "Dream a Little Dream of Me"
• Ray Charles songs like "Hit the Road Jack", "You Know the Night Time is the Right Time", "What I'd Say"', "I Can't Stop Lovin' You"...well, okay, he basically performed with a female chorus, so many of his songs fit.
• X, like "Shoot Out the Lights" (catalogue protected, so you won't find on YouTube)
• Prince w/ Sheena Easton "U Got the Look"
• Human League
• Animotion

...and I know I'm missing a ton of others, but I've gotta get moving for the day...I foresee myself coming back to this thread, definitely.
posted by batmonkey at 10:41 AM on June 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

Blonde Redhead, I recommend Misery is a Butterfly, first few albums on Touch and Go Records (what a great label, RIP) are more noisy, they get prettier after that. I like everything they've done.

cosign everybody who recommends Low. first couple records are veeerrrrryyyy sloooow tempo always, low key like that.. Great Destroyer gets pretty rock and abrasive at times, more recent Drums and Guns has some electronic elements. all of these are good & the harmonies are amazing, where to start depends on your taste.

Moldy Peaches Steak for Chicken (lololol, etc. awesome.)

Wow, nobody mentioned SONIC YOUTH? they don't typically sing on the same song but they all write them. Dirty Boots
posted by citron at 10:41 AM on June 6

Lady Antebellum is one of my current favorites. I'm not too big into country, but they blend it enough with pop that I really like it. Their two big singles that you might want to look into are "Lookin' For A Good Time" and "I Run to You."
posted by lilac girl at 10:47 AM on June 6

Out of the Woods: Nickel Creek
When Something Is Wrong With My Baby: Otis Redding & Carla Thomas (Get—sample—the whole astounding album)
posted by dpcoffin at 10:57 AM on June 6

Ne-Yo and Mary J Blige Do You (remix.. imho better than the original)

Lucy Pearl Dance Tonight

The Velvet Underground & Nico album, far as I remember (don't have the record handy) they'd have the guys doing response on some of the songs Nico sings.. a-ha I'll Be Your Mirror, Femme Fatale

Up until Hagerty left the band after Pound for Pound.. Royal Trux. they rock. Maybe try Cats and Dogs.

The Delta 72 were a real cool DC band who had male and female singers on their first couple albums - check The R&B of Membership (best song here IMHO: "get down")

The Mekons, also.. I really am fond of Journey to the End of the Night. Sally Timms has a gorgeous voice. I couldn't say who writes what. Older Mekons single -
Memphis, Egypt.

Serge Gainsbourg traded off vocals on a lot of his songs or there was a woman singing the chorus.. Bonnie and Clyde (omg, could this video be any cooler???), Ballade de Melody Nelson, Ford Mustang (BANG), Initials BB (waaau superfrançais)
posted by citron at 11:28 AM on June 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

Oh and Coastal.
posted by merocet at 11:40 AM on June 6

Afghan Whigs's "Somethin' Hot"
posted by batmonkey at 11:40 AM on June 6

Try out Breathe Owl Breathe - they've been part of my life soundtrack for the last couple of years.
posted by pipstar at 11:46 AM on June 6

I'd recommend Buddy and Julie Miller's album called, er, Buddy and Julie Miller. Their cover of Richard Thompson's "Keep Your Distance" and their own song, "Holding Up The Sky" are just gorgeous.

Buddy and Julie are married to one another. They don't tour together often (if at all), because Julie has poor health, something like fibromyalgia or ME, I believe. Buddy is also part of Emmylou Harris's band.
posted by essexjan at 11:51 AM on June 6

Seconding Breathe Owl Breathe. I recommend seeing them in concert any chance you get; they put on an incredibly fun, charismatic show that puts a smile on my face. Do it!

"Come to Me" by Mark Lanegan is a great duet he does with PJ Harvey. He's also collaborated with Isobel Campbell (Belle & Sebastian,) so you might want to dig through his catalog. If nothing else, his music is perfect for a calm drive alone on a summer night.
posted by Turkey Glue at 11:59 AM on June 6

Everything bunnytricks said. Make sure to check out Ida. Shotgun is a heartbreaking classic of theirs. They create an interesting vocal texture by having Daniel sing in falsetto above Elizabeth.
posted by umbú at 12:03 PM on June 6

Kenny Lattimore and Chante Moore are a husband-and-wife team that sings a lot of their own music as well as classics. They both have beautiful voices, here's their Myspace.
posted by Danila at 12:25 PM on June 6

"Awkward Duet" - Sons and Daughters

Yo La Tengo. Their covers of "You Can Have it All" and "The Whole of the Law" come to mind...

Yes, yes, yes to Julie Doiron and the Wooden Stars, as well as her pre-solo time in Eric's Trip ("My Chest is Empty" is the ultimate boy-girl duet song). And a million times yes to Low--just last night we were driving around listening to "(That's How You Sing) Amazing Grace" and commiserating about how great Alan and Mimi's voices work together.

It might be a little out of bounds for what you want, but there are a handful of pretty, shoegaze-y early Brian Jonestown Massacre songs that have female vocals backing up the lead's. "Everybody Says" and "Evergreen" come to mind.

If you like BPB and duets, you neeed, need, need to check out Songs: Ohia's "Captain Badass" which, despite its unfortunate title, features an incredibly sexy duet with Edith Frost.

The Luna cover of Serge Gainsbourg's "Bonnie and Clyde" features Laetitia Sadier from Stereolab's voice. I like it even more than the original.

The Spinanes' "Reach v. Speed" has Rebecca Gates call-and-respond singing with The Sea and Cake's Sam Prekop. Two voices I happen to love.

Trembling Blue Stars/The Field Mice have lots of boy-girl harmonies, being all Sarah Records twee and fey and all that. Come to think of it, lots of those Sarah bands do--Secret Shine comes to mind maybe.

There is an Afghan Whigs "cover" on Debonair of a Scrawl song ("Ready") that is really just Greg Dulli singing along with Scrawl's lead singer. It's sad and pretty.

There is a live cover that floats around often of Ryan Adams and Gillian Welch doing a duet version of Neil Young's "Helpless." It is, in the right mood, devastating. There's also a similar sort of thing with a live version of yet another Neil Young classic, "Albuquerque," sung by Low and Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters/Sun Kil Moon.
posted by ifjuly at 12:49 PM on June 6

And, damn, has anyone mentioned Johnny Cash and June Carter singing "Jackson"? That pretty much sets the standard on all counts for your criteria.
posted by ifjuly at 12:52 PM on June 6

Here's that Ryan Adams/Gillian Welch duet.
posted by ifjuly at 12:55 PM on June 6

Lee Presson and the Nails do a lot of lovely duets with Lee and his ex-wife. Enjoy Youself off El Bando en Fuego is particularly lovely, as is Wave a White Flag from Playing Dirty.

The massively NSFW and kinky duet The Wet Spots are a fantastic husband wife duo.

I love the Joan Jett and Paul Westerberg cover of Let's Do It from the Tank Girl soundtrack.

Ike and Tina Turner doing Proud Mary is classic.

Seconding Ella/Louie and Johnny/June Carter Cash pairings. I LOVE Carter/Cash doing It Ain't Me Babe.
posted by mollymayhem at 12:58 PM on June 6

Long John Baldry and Kathi McDonald singing "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" as a duet.

You can't beat the Righteous Brothers version, but listening to this makes you realize it was meant to be recorded as a girl/guy duet.
posted by lockedroomguy at 1:45 PM on June 6

Nthing Low. The earlier albums are pretty mellow and sleepy, becoming heavier and rockier more recently. And Nthing Velvet Underground and Gillian Welch & David Rawlings.

Adding Damon & Naomi. They are married, musically it's near 50-50 partnership plus collaborators. Their album The Earth is Blue was one of only 11 albums given the full 5 stars by Rolling Stone in the past 10 years.
posted by K.P. at 1:46 PM on June 6

So many good things already named. A few more from the more country/americana side of things: John Prine's album In Spite of Ourselves is a series of duets with many different women from many different musical traditions. Emmy Lou Harris (mentioned several times for other things) also has a lovely album where she sings along with Mark Knopfler on a bunch of country songs he wrote--I know it sounds farfetched but All the Road Running is a great album. Similar is this year's big Grammy winner duets between Allison Kraus and Robert Plant, Raising Sand.

Finally, in a completely different vein (and possibly closer to what you might like stylistically) are my current favorite band, Girlyman, who are, as they say "Leading Edge Three-Part Harmony Folk-Pop" with two women and a man each with amazing vocal talent and range.
posted by hydropsyche at 2:08 PM on June 6

Oh! Oh! And this french version of Blur's To the end with Damon Alburn and Francoise Hardy. Their vocals actually sound odd together, but I love it nontheless.

And this duet of Dream a little Dream by Terry Hall and Marijne van der Vlugt.

Memories of mixtapes past...*sigh*
posted by freya_lamb at 2:41 PM on June 6

Alburn?! Sorry, Albarn, for the pop pedants out there...
posted by freya_lamb at 2:43 PM on June 6

"My Eyes" from Doctor Horrible.
posted by you're a kitty! at 2:53 PM on June 6

The album Moonbabies At The Ballroom has lots of this (e.g. Take Me To The Ballroom).

"You Don't Know Me" by Ben Folds with Regina Spektor is great, too.
posted by fhangler at 2:59 PM on June 6

Oh you must must must check out Quasi. I cannot recommend them highly enough, for the specific things you're looking for and just for kicking ass in every way generally. I believe they are ex-spouses, also.
posted by zoinks at 4:06 PM on June 6

yes, gram and emmy lou together is basically the most beautiful sound ever.
posted by saul wright at 4:24 PM on June 6

I dunno from bands too much, but there are some nice songs you might likey:
The Dull Flame of Desire - Bjork and Antony Hegarty set this duet on fire.
Julia Nunes and Danny Teiger cover "Falling Slowly" from the movie Once.
And in fact, while you're at it, check out the Once soundtrack or rent the movie if you haven't already- it's a sweet, non-cheesy romance story with gorgeous unplugged duets by a couple of wonderful singer/musicians.
Oh, and the band Iron and Wine also has a lot of male-female duets- pretty subtle layering, but really nice.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 5:21 PM on June 6

Eastmountainsouth sounds like they would be up your alley.
posted by kindall at 5:23 PM on June 6

I love Water and a Flame by Daniel Meriwether and Adele. Especially the final verse.

I'm also kind of ashamed to admit it, but You Are The Music In Me from High School Musical 2 is really good.
posted by reenum at 6:53 PM on June 6

There are lots of nice French duets. If you're interested in Gainsbourg (beyond his duets with Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin), I recommend: Dents de Lait, Dents de Loup (a duet with France Gall, who has a little-girl voice which juxtaposed nicely with Gainsbourg's breathy growl); Ne Dis Rien (with one of the best ye-ye singers, Anna Karina); and, most importantly, Lemon Incest (with daughter Charlotte).

Evan Dando has some nice duets. I like Summer Wine with Sabrine Brooke. The Lemonheads have a new cover album coming out called Varshons, including a cover of a Leonard Cohen song called Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye with Liv Tyler. In a similar vein, you might like Matthew Sweet's cover album(s) with Susanna Hoffs.
posted by Mael Oui at 9:05 PM on June 6

I thought of more! You might remember this Slow Club from this darling commercial.

Tilly and the Wall are a husband and wife team with a couple other band members. The backbeat is frequently provided by the wife's tap dancing!
posted by alygator at 3:14 AM on June 7

Another vote for Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong -- even if you think you don't like jazz.
posted by danb at 7:02 AM on June 7

Bowerbirds!
posted by saul wright at 5:09 PM on June 7

OOoh, you gotta listen to my favorite duet, Temptation For Love by Squeeze.

Temptation For Love
posted by markjamesmurphy at 7:02 PM on June 7

I'm going to second (or third?) Stars.

Also, I want to throw my vote in for The Submarines, who -- according their wiki page -- dated, then broke up, then got back together because of their music (awww)
posted by carpyful at 7:09 PM on June 7

Try Mike and Ruthy's Waltz for a Chickadee release. Just came out, they're touring with it, and it's exactly as if Simon and Garfunkel were Simon and Wife-Funkel.

Gorgeous, poignant folk music from some of the founders of the folk supergroup The Mammals.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 8:09 PM on June 7

"Your Ghost", by Kristin Hersh and Michael Stipe.

Seconding June and Johnny Cash, and PJ Harvey and Thom Yorke.
posted by chronic sublime at 3:24 AM on June 8