To me, the only way one can truly be "original" is to provide his own voice in his compositions. It is absurd to think that any person who takes any art seriously will put themselves in a box and NEVER grow outside of it. Sure, by society's labels they may not be seen as pioneers, but they themselves have grown and become better artists. If you keep to yourself, you'll find ways YOU can make new music. If these are new techniques, so be it. If it's rediscovering the awesomeness of "Kitsch" music, you'll find new ways to make people tap their toes. As somebody before me stated: it's more the artistic power behind the work that matters.