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What artists define Canadian music today?
As a preamble, I am constantly seeking music in all its forms. My typical domain has always been to strive to find the hidden gems originating from elsewhere on this planet, and have done so always safe in the knowledge that I knew what was the defining charasteristic and/or artist of the Canadian music scene as it pertained to genres.
Take rock music for example. For years, no matter who I talked to, the answer would always be the Tragically Hip. For a brief time some would answer Matthew Good, or Our Lady Peace (shudder). Often, elsewhere in the world people will still answer with Rush. But now there seems, for good or bad, to be a void in the tapestry as to what sound, or sentiment, or style, tends to typify the "Canadian" sound.
Now naturally there will always be an element of regionalism. For instance, out East there's always been the influence of Celtic music (predominantly via the fiddle) with the likes of Great Big Sea, et. al., and no one can deny that there is a distinctly unique French music scene in Quebec. But throughout the 1990's especially there was, for the most part, an undeniable affiliation with "The 'Hip" that I found regardless of what province I was in.
As we have recently crossed the threshold into a new decade (and while watching the history of the US cattle industry documentary if you must know) this question has crossed my mind. Given that the dominant binding element on this board (hopefully) is music, and that I cannot arrive at any resounding answer myself, I pose the question to TOTA:
What band or artist defines Canadian music for you?
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"The function of music is to release us from the tyranny of conscious thought." — Sir Thomas Beecham
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) is still rocking it too 
