Cover Thursdays- This Will Never End, This Will Never Stop

There are some songs, that just sound better when in the hands of someone else.  That's not to say that the band or artist who originally wrote and performed those songs are bad.  It just means that those songs were meant for someone else's voice or creative outlook.  Bob Dylan himself admitted that he preferred Jimi Hendrix's version of "All Along the Watchtower."  Noel Gallagher of Oasis confessed that Ryan Adams version of "Wonderwall" is superior to Oasis' version saying "I think Ryan Adams is the only person her who ever got that song right."  I think the same is true of Joshua James' cover Modest Mouse's "Custom Concern."  The stripped down version has so much more emotion.  It's almost like that song was meant for James.

Take a listen.  Here's Joshua James performing the Modest Mouse song "Custom Concern."



Joshua James: Is It Selfish To Suppose, Love...?

You'd be hard pressed to find a musician that empties out his soul into his songs better than Joshua James does.  I've seen him live as an opener, and it's hard not to respect and value the heartfelt and honest lyrics.  That being said, I find that I have to be in the right mood to listen to his albums all the way through.  Not because he's a sub par musician, in fact he's great, but because the topics he writes about are so deep and emotional, that it can be draining.

Joshua James' 2008 release The Sun Is Always Brighter was named iTunes "Best of 2008" folk album.  In 2009 he released Build Me This which was named iTunes "Best of 2009" Indie Spotlight Singer/Songwriter Album.

This performance is one of my favorites since starting the blog.  Here's Joshua James performing "In The Middle" from Build Me This.

Take a look at his website!