Man, I was hugely into The Wall when I was about 16. Had an enormous 6 by 8 foot poster in my room and everything. Performed "Hey You" in a band once and got some good reactions from the crowd.
I think that album probably speaks to disaffected teenagers in a powerful way, but it's hard as a 36 year old man to get particularly excited about it. When it gets to the The Trial and his crime turns out to be "showing feelings of an almost human nature" it's sorta hard to keep going along with it. Especially if you've seen the movie and know his bigger crime is probably turning into a fascist weirdo who sicks the dogs on his audience.
Still, I would defend the record, on the whole. There's a bit of whining going on, but I think it was from the heart.
Animals, I never really did get into. Dark Side and especially Wish You Were Here are more likely to get played nowadays.
And, geez, now that I'm getting older, "High Hopes" from The Division Bell starts to resonate more, even if it's recorded in a needlessly sterile way.
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