Friday, October 2, 2009

Friday music recommendation: Duet edition

Watching this week's episode of Glee, I was reminded yet again how much I adore male/female duets. Kristin Chenoweth and Matthew Morrison rocking out karaoke-style to Heart's "Alone" made me sit up straighter, open my eyes wider, and strain my ears to catch every note. Here it is below if you missed it (a better version can be found in the full episode, which you can watch on Hulu):



Embedded below are my very favorite male/female duets, in no particular order since I cherish each and every one of them:

Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, "It Ain't Me Babe" (actually, it's pretty much a three-way tie between this, "Jackson," and "If I Were A Carpenter")


Slow Club, "Christmas TV"


Gentle, folky, sweet, and charming. I must have listened to this song 30 or 40 times in the span of a week. It still hasn't gotten old.

The Postal Service, "Nothing Better"


Still makes me tear up, years after my first listen. The part that gets me is her "Just back away and let me go" followed by his "I can't, my darling, I love you so." God, this one is heartrending if you've been through a difficult breakup; it paints such a realistic picture of the dissolution of a relationship.

Rhett Miller and Rachael Yamagata, "Fireflies"


Another sweet, wistful tune about love lost. I've loved both of these artists so fiercely for so many years now, it's no wonder I'm crazy about this duet.

Stars, "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead"


When I first heard these lyrics, I was dumbstruck; I was finally healing from a major heartbreak, and the song described so perfectly how I felt at that moment in time: "You were what I wanted / I gave what I gave / I'm not sorry I met you / I'm not sorry it's over / I'm not sorry there's nothing to save." I still feel that way, and the song still speaks to me as strongly as it did the first time I heard it.

Chairlift, "Bruises"


Pamie first brought this song to my attention a few months ago, and it makes me smile. It's as simple as that. Just a fun, sweet, swoony song. :)

Rachael Yamagata also sings a duet with Ray LaMontagne on her latest album (the song is called "Duet," naturally) that's absolutely stunning, but the only videos out there feature Rachael solo. That's obviously not a bad thing, but to get the full effect, you really need to listen to the original version of the song on the album.

Any other male/female duets I should add to my list?

3 comments:

Gail Dixon said...

Yay, you're doing the music recommendation again!

I did enjoy Glee this week and the scene with Kristin Chenoweth and Matthew Morrison.

Other duets...what about Stevie Nicks & Don Henley doing Leather & Lace? I also have one on my ipod of Broken by Seether and Amy Lee of Evanescence. Those are two off the top of my head.

Autumn said...

Oh yeah, I've heard (and liked) "Broken." I'm not familiar with the Nicks/Henley duet, but I'll check it out! Thanks!

Progress Lighting said...

Wow, those music were amazing. Love their harmony.