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Aww geez... how could I forget? Blue Rodeo, Sloan, New Pornographers, and Arcade Fire for sure. That's a good list, Ganj.

Sloan, Arcade Fire, and Sam Roberts all have songs that IMO are deeply rooted in the Canadian identity.
 
How about The Northern Pike's "Teenland"?

I actually danced to this at Wrong Bar a few weeks ago. Attending an alternative gay Pride party in Parkdale while dancing to the Northern Pikes was truly an "only in Canada" moment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPznPZLNQhI

The Pursuit of Happiness' "She's So Young" would definitely be another.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArGdLkpDGCQ

OK, this one is more of a "Toronto legend" but it still puts a chill in my spine even though I'm thoroughly not a sports fan. It just reminds me of 1980s Toronto and sitting in Exhibition Stadium with my dad as a kid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjdqEo2NiWM
 
To get Torontocentric, has Murray McLauchlan's "Down By The Henry Moore" been mentioned? (Or *anything* by him?)
 
Last week I was walking around my neighbourhood which is decorated for a festival with thousands of Japanese paper lanterns and I started to make up a song about these paper lanterns before I realised that the song I was humming was actually Kim Mitchell's "Patio Lanterns". Made me homesick. I spent that evening on YouTube watching videos from 80s Canadian hair bands - Glass Tiger, Honeymoon Suite, Platinum Blonde, Lee Aaron. A good time was had by all.
 
Wow, this is a difficult question. Since I can't choose one I will nominate a few:

  • The Weakerthans - One Great City ("Late afternoon, another day is nearly done/A darker grey is breaking through a lighter one")
  • Neil Young - Helpless
  • The Tragically Hip - Wheat Kings (A song about David Milgaard's wrongful conviction)
  • The Tragically Hip - Bobcaygeon
  • The Great Lake Swimmers - I will never see the sun ("I will never see the sun/Spadina, St. George, Bay, and Yonge")
  • Jason Collett - Almost Summer (although almost every jason collett song is unmistakeably Canadian)
  • Gordon Lightfoot - Canadian Railroad Trilogy

Canada has so much great music to offer. Stars, Broken Social Scene, Matt Mays, Malajube, The New Pornographers, Wolf Parade, the Dears, Death From Above, Feist.... However, it's the the folksy kind of songs that remind me most of Canada.
 
I've noticed the glaring absence of Bruce Cockburn, Anne Murray and Stop, Die Resuscitate in this discussion. Looking back, I would have to go with Lightfoot's Canadian Railroad Trilogy as truly the best Canadiana.
 
Mr. McCartney, my grade 13 history teacher at York Mills, played the Trilogy for the class one day when we were studying modern Canadian history and it was actually quite moving to sit still and listen to the lyric.
 
Urban Shocker said:
Mr. McCartney, my grade 13 history teacher at York Mills, played the Trilogy for the class one day when we were studying modern Canadian history and it was actually quite moving to sit still and listen to the lyric.
Click to expand...

Interesting. My OAC geography teacher gave out an assignment to choose a Canadian song to play for the class and to describe how the song related to the Canadian experience. About 70% of the class chose the Canadian Railroad Trilogy.

All of us got very tired of that song very quickly.
 
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