Does a great AMV have to have a great song?

[DriftRoot]

And then there are the folks who make a horrific AMV out of a fantastic song, so obviously the song is not the be-all and end-all of AMV wonderfulness. It's the editor's skills at interpreting a given song that we're paying attention to, not the song itself.

You interpret a mediocre song really well, hurrah! You interpret an awesome song really well, hurrah! I'd say the former is more of an accomplishment, even if the latter comes out more impressive in the end. All other things being equal, making a nice AMV to nice music is a lot easier than making a nice AMV to a subpar music.