I often get needlessly worked up over things of no consequence. Today, that thing is a report on Billboard.com about the forthcoming new record from "The Who." Consider those quote marks a contemptuous sneer, because, of course, there can be no new music from the Who. Keith Moon: dead. John Entwistle: dead. The Who: dead. That won't stop Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend from sticking that name on whatever it is they come up with in the hope of selling a few copies to the few fans not turned off by their innumerable "farewell" tours over the past 20 years.

These two obviously are free to record whatever and whenever they want; they need not ask for my approval. But it just seems sad when people can't let go the past. I've never been a huge Led Zeppelin fan, but I certainly admire Robert Plant and Jimmy Page for refusing to cash in on what would certainly be a big payday by resurrecting that fabled name whenever they need more cash. Save for a couple of notable appearances such as Live Aid, the two have chosen to perform under their own names. If they had allowed John Paul Jones to play bass on a couple of tracks on their Walking into Clarksdale disc from a few years back and called it Led Zeppelin, it's guaranteed that it would have sold more than it did as a Page/Plant disc.

It would be one thing if there was any reasonable hope that the music created by Daltrey and Townshend was going to be any good. Recent history, however, seems to suggest that isn't likely. So, these dinosaurs limp on. They can't tarnish the music -- no matter how many ads it fuels I still get a rush hearing "Won't Get Fooled Again" -- but their legacy is certainly in jeopardy. Again, comparing the Who to Led Zeppelin, save for the questionable but still interesting Coda, Led Zeppelin didn't make a bad record. No matter that they stopped before they really had a chance to, they chose to maintain something with dignity. The Who, meanwhile, continued on after Moon's death and made some decent music, but nothing that stands with their best work from the '60s and '70s. A new disc 25 years after their last threatens to further dilute things.

Another comparison: The Beatles. There is plenty of criticism to be lobbed at the business practices of the Fab Four Inc., but they clearly have maintained the integrity of their music. The latest news from their camp is that a box set of four albums is coming next month. The hook this time? Stereo versions to go alongside the mono versions. That's it. No unearthed bonus tracks, dub edits or dance tracks. Sure, you could debate this point by mentioning the Anthology project, and I'd be hard pressed to argue with anyone who cited the grave-robbing of "Real Love" and "Free as a Bird" as being on par with (or worse than) what Daltrey and Townshend are doing. But given the opportunities to open the spigot and watch the money come pouring out, the Beatles have been dignified and restrained, and that is to the benefit of their back catalog.