"That's a big reason why I was always a solo performer. It's easier to be individual and personally eratic outside the confines of a group."

Great point, Art. That's one of the reasons I love performing solo; it allows me to give my quirks free rein.

Jerry, I think that songs can change naturally or "organically," as you describe, and that's a great thing. I also think it's perfectly legitimate for the change to occur deliberately. I sometimes really enjoy putting songs through a radical restructuring; words and music are both fair game, in my book. It doesn't necessarily make my version better or worse than the original, but it does sometimes allow me to make a deeper personal connection with the song. And I figure it's those deep personal connections that allow us to realize the full meaning of music.

In the end, though, we all have our own approaches to this, and I'm happy we do.