I hear a lot of current worship leaders doing old hymns but in a new way.  For a long time I'd listen but it just didn't seem quite right.  They weren't bad by any means but something didn't sound right to me (and I mean just me, my personal preference). Then I remembered when I was young in the 70's that there was a thing call Muzak.  There was a company that supplied background music to stores, restaurants and elevators, "elevator music". They would take current pop songs and orchestrate them to be more palatable to the "older" generations.  Of course that would drive the young people crazy to hear there rock songs so tamed.

I realize that when I hear the old hymns done in a contemporary fashion that it's kind of the same thing but in reverse. To hear The Old Rugged Cross with a rock back beat seems odd to me.  I also wonder why these young musicians feel the need to redo these old hymns?  There's so much great worship music today why do they bother with the old stuff?  

I remember going to a Christmas service where they had a brass ensemble and a pipe organ accompanying the Christmas songs.  Wow!  To here the old songs done as they were originally intended was...was...?  Amazing is an overused word.

I can't help but wonder if the old hymns were done like that at every church would they have stayed more popular.   

I remember years ago talking with a young lady who couldn't understand how the older folks could be worshiping God through such old boring music. I said when those old folks were her age that was contemporary christian music and so they still love it.  I told her that when she gets to be old she'll probably be listening to Chris Tomlin and her kids with be yawning.