After so wonderfully satirizing them on Wish You Were Here, [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Pink Floyd[/lastfm] regained a new edge over record companies this week, earning the right to only sell their catalog as complete albums.

Roger Waters In Bostonview gallery

Obviously, members of Pink Floyd believe in the idea of an album of music as a complete work, an idea that’s been threatened to fade into obscurity in the digital age, where individual songs can be downloaded and bought on iTunes at will.

As a result of the loss, EMI will now need to distribute Pink Floyd’s catalog to be sold on sites like iTunes and Amazon as only full albums, and not to be sold as individual tracks, which is about as useful as playing a Pink Floyd album on shuffle. They also reportedly owe the band over $15.7 million in unpaid royalties.

It’s the best way to experience Pink Floyd anyway, hearing albums like The Wall from start to finish. Way better than listening to a single track as it abruptly cuts away instead of segueing seamlessly into the next.

Imagine listening to “Brain Damage” or “Eclipse” on its own and not back-to-back. Sucks the life out of it. Good thing Pink Floyd feels the same way.

• More Pink Floyd on WZLX.com
• [lastfm=pink-floyd]Pink Floyd[/lastfm] on Last.fm