General   (General discussion, talk about anything.)

This is nothing new. Experimentation has been going on for centuries along with creativeness.
Whether the original version or an interpretation stands the test of time is only known by those who can be in the position to state it as a fact.
For example, many songs which the general public know well and many people like are not the original versions. For instance, Blue Suede Shoes was a big hit for Elvis, but was a cover version. House of the Rising Sun is not an original composition of The Animals. Tainted Love was covered by Soft Cell and although this version is still popular it is extremely rare to hear the original version on the radio. Most people who like 'Motown' and similar music will instantly think of Marvin Gaye when the classic 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' is mentioned, but this is, again, a cover and not the first official release.
The list is very long, yet many people do not know the original versions and the radio stations rarely, if ever, play the original versions.

Playing around with a composition from a century or three ago is on the same level as playing around with science. After all, didn't Gary Brooker admit to coming up with 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' while trying to play a piece of music by Johann Sebastian Bach?

After all! Do we not take things from the past and try to revamp it to offer something which might be considered new?