I'm bringing this conversation over from another thread. Bon Jovi took the Soul Asylum song Runaway Train for Someday I'll be Saturday Night and we hold it in such wide regard. Why do we give a get out of jail free card for that and not from songs from the last decade?

Seb made the point of "Probably because that's considered a good song, while most of the recent stuff just isn't." but that just doesn't do it for me. Would everyone have to like the song enough for us to say "It's okay this isn't original work because what they did sounds great?"

Would love some thoughts.