What is on Josh's iPOD?

When asked what is Josh Groban on his iPOD, his response is often, “My IPOD is a mess!” Despite his classical training, Josh is known to have eclectic taste in music. Here is a sampling of artists that Josh could be caught listening to:

The University a Capella album

Ben Folds

The piano-playing, angst-ridden North Carolina native is the male version of Alanis Morissette. After bidding farewell to his band, Ben Folds Five, he went solo in 2001. Like Josh, Ben is an advocate for music education. Recently, he released an a capella album featuring university singing groups from across the country. The album is essentially a compilation of some of Ben’s greatest hits sung a capella. Ben also collaborated with Josh on Josh’s upcoming album. The duo recorded a song, “Life is a Masquerade,” as a joke but actually got some favorable response from fans. Josh recently had the opportunity to sing with Ben live at one of his concerts in Los Angeles. Josh commented, “This was a situation I thought I’d get booed. But it was actually really cool. The audience was singing along. They were open to hearing a different version.”

The Fleet Foxes self-titled album

Fleet Foxes 

The quintet from Seattle are heavily influenced by 60s artist such as The Beach Boys, Neil Young, The Byrds and David Crosby. The group is on heavy rotation on the satellite college radio stations and have been mentioned by Josh on a few occasions as being a must listen. Their folksy sound and serene harmonies make the perfect Sunday afternoon drive music. Gems on this album include “White Winter Hymnal”, “Ragged Wood”, and “Blue Ridge Mountains”

Grizzly Bears' latest album "Veckatimest"

Grizzly Bear

Another band on Josh’s list that is similar to Fleet Foxes in their mellow sound is Grizzly Bear. They have performed for Radio Head, (another Josh favorite) TV on the Radio and the BAM festival, a five-night tribute to Paul Simon at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Josh met them when performing at the BAM festival. He posted the bizarrely fascinating video for their song, “Two Weeks,”on his blog. According to Josh “They’re one of the most exciting bands I’ve heard in a long while. They poured me a shot of whiskey backstage, said “loosen up!” and we’ve been friends ever since.”

The soundtrack from "Into the Wild"

Eddie Vedder

The soundtrack for the movie, Into the Wild, is a favorite of Josh’s. The movie based on a true story stars Emile Hirsch as a student who gives away his entire life savings and escapes to Alaska in pursuit for freedom and solitude. Josh told Entertainment Weekly, ”Emile Hirsch was amazing. The album, by Eddie Vedder, is spectacular. I think it's comparable to when Aimee Mann did Magnolia.'' The album captures the essence of the movie and features Vedder’s distinctive voice accompanied by the soothing sounds of the mandolin. Josh is also a fan of Vedder’s band, Pearl Jam. He took the opportunity to play one of his favorite Pearl Jam songs, "Once," when he was the guest DJ on XM radio.
 

D'Angelo's Best Of album

D'Angelo

Perhaps the most unexpected artist on Josh’s list is the singer/songwriter, D’Angelo.  The hot R&B artist is very popular with the ladies.  Josh told the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “I was dating a girl not too long ago who had an obsession with D’Angelo,” he said. “So I have his deluxe best of on the iPod.”