Janice, you may have misunderstood what I said.

I don't believe in re-creation. A huge reason people refuse to sing in public is that they 'can't sing like...' If a song is worth singing, it's worth caring about. If it's worth caring about, you're gonna get a little of the song on you, and the song's gonna get a little of you stuck to it.

I don't have a problem with gentle, natural changes. I have a problem with intentional, wrenching changes. You ever know a song well and try to sing on the chorus with someone who's tweaked the holy hell out of a song for no apparent reason other than to change it?

I don't have a problem with someone creating a new version of a song, whether it's Leadbelly, Woody, Dylan or Bob Coltman. I have a problem with someone offering next to nothing in the way of creativity and shoving in a few indelicate changes in an effort to dominate and subdue a song. That's likely not what they intended, but that's how it feels to me.

And maybe in the end, all it comes down to is the grace and respect with which changes are made. Oh, and talent -- the big thing no one's mentioned yet. If the changes suck, I won't enjoy them.