Music Monday: Mother, Mutter, Mère

I went on a road trip with my mother recently (only a couple hours, which is a lot for the two of us in an enclosed space) and she was complaining about having only the same couple of CD's in the car, playing over and over (she has many more lying around the car, but most of them are lame and I really need to organize them all anyway). And since the music she does listen to in the car is very much her and not me, I decided to come up with a little collection to give her. Consider it "Good Music My Mom Will Like (And Maybe Yours Will Too)".

The Situation:
My Mom is a very easy listening kind of lady. For example, one time I was playing Spoon and she asked me why I was listening to hard rock. She likes things like Bon Iver, Enya, and Neil Young (although I suspect she wouldn't even listen to the latter if it wasn't for the fact that he was big when she was young). The motley collection in her car even includes a CD by a traditional Irish folk band (granted, we were friends with one of the members).
But! She's already on the right track. She's got some Mumford & Sons and The Avett Brothers going on, and she even has Beck's Morning Phase, although she always forgets about that one. She has this habit of picking up CDs at starbucks, and so far she's avoided or missed the Shakira and Frozen type ones. One time she got a Mark Berube CD after seeing him live and she didn't mind it! She's also somehow ended up with my copies of Sea+Air's My Heart's Sickest Chord and Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros' Here. Every time I mention they're mine she's completely surprised and a little doubtful. Fun fact: she gave me Here for christmas last year.

The Task:
So the idea is to find music that I think is good, and intelligent, and meaningful, that she will actually listen to rather than telling me to turn it down. And hopefully I can keep her away from our local top-40's-from-at-least-5-years-ago station, at least for a little while. Seriously, its name is EZRock. Of all things. (there's nothing rock about it, not even the EZ kind.)
DISCLAIMER: I'm not calling these albums or artists boring, or somehow not good. They're all excellent and have a special place in my heart. I just think my mom would actually enjoy them too.

The Goods:
The xx - XX (2009)

I'm not too sure how much she'll like this one, because their sound is so different and more... contemporary? I don't want to say electronic. But it's also so laid back and mellow that I think it'll balance out.

Dan Mangan - Nice, Nice, Very Nice (2009)

I know for a fact that she's going to like this one. I was listening to this album the other day and she came in and started... grooving? to it in a very mom way. Which kind of made me hesitate to add it - I feel weirdly protective and possessive of this album. I was thinking about giving her Oh, Fortune instead, but in the end I knew she would enjoy this one more. (On an unrelated note, Dan Mangan is still a human teddy bear to me.)

First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar (2012)

This selection is following the vibe of some of my mom's old favourites: Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, and other bluegrassy folky tunes we have lying around. That stuff is great, but there's only so many times you can listen to Harvest Moon on repeat, so First Aid Kit's youthful, melodic sound is a breath of fresh air.

The Paper Kites - States (2013)

Ah yes, sweet mellow Australian angels. I still can't believe they were playing in the city I was in, on their first North American tour, and I couldn't go! Their melodic, soothing sound has been a favourite of mine since early high school. Something about them makes me want to go out adventuring - or maybe that's just their music videos.

That's the list for now! If I ever come up with enough other albums, maybe I'll make a part 2. Who knows.