Folk music has a life and needs to be allowed to grow. That being said, I think there's always a need for preservation too. It's a roots v. flowers thing. You need both. I can't imagine that I'd prefer to hear the original version of, say,.... Black is the Colour of My True Love's Hair, not to say I wouldn't like to hear it at all,when I could hear Christy Moore's version instead. It, surely, is sweeter to my ear. I get a little miffed with Irish "purists" who ask for folk songs then are disapointed when they get a newer version than the Clancy Bros did. They don't really want the pure quill, they want the 1960's version. I always delight in playing some rebel tunes as jazz for the "That's not traditional" crowd. It puts them into orbit.