Another point wonderfully made Frank. Once in a while someone comes along who transends our arguments. But just once in a while.
Also you mention different influences...That's the main problem as far as I'm concerned. The influences are extremely narrow (singer songwriters who've made it big) and the desire to get one's story out there totally supercedes the desire to dig a little deeper - which takes time and effort.
The vast majority of submissions I get for my radio show are
1. Young women completely influenced by: Ani Di Franco, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Loreena McKinnet, Joni Mitchell, and Emmy Lou Harris.
2. Young (and not so young) men completely influenced by Dylan. Period.
3. Celtic/Rock hybrid bands.

You just get sick of it. It's all good - just not as good as the originals. When I receive an album showing even some knowledge of the folk tradition (which to me indicates an investment) I play the hell out of it on the air. Folk audiences in Toronto knew very little of Art Theime, Jerry Rasmussen, Harvey Andrews, or even The Patons a while ago, and now I get requests for all of those people. I'm hoping it will be the same with Kendall, and some other traditionally based musical "catters" over the next year.

Rick