It’s been an interesting ride for Hurricane Bells’ Steve Schiltz. The man rose to prominence for fronting the underrated NYC guitar-rock act Longwave, but once Schiltz began branching out on his own for his more acoustic-based side project Hurricane Bells, a b-side from his project’s debut album, “Monsters“, wound up getting on the soundtrack to the second Twilight movie. Suddenly Hurricane Bells was more well known than Longwave ever was, even if the song was nowhere near indicative of the cathartic content of his newer project’s’ sound.
Just as 2011 wrapped up, Schiltz could proudly look back on what he accomplished: following the release of the solid Down Comes the Rain EP in late 2010, Schiltz went back and revamped his sound for this year’s Tides and Tales, a much more sonically dense, expansive album than his debut Tonight is the Ghost was. With Tides, not only do we see Schiltz expanding his musical palette, but we also get to see him really come into his own as a songwriter for Hurricane Bells: each band now has their own unique, distinctive sound, even if they do come from the same mind.
To help cap off his triumphant year, Schiltz sat down with PopMatters to reveal his top five favorite records of all time, explaining why these discs had a great influence on him in the way that they did, all while he muses as to why more kids aren’t a fan of the Edge . . .
5. Pink Floyd
The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
“Obviously classic, and the sound is amazing. When ‘Breathe’ comes in it’s like a hug from inside.”
4. U2
Achtung Baby (1991)
“It was between this and Unforgettable Fire. These records are like Guitar 101 for me. I don’t know why every guitar player I know doesn’t absolutely love the Edge.”
3. The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Live at Winterland (1987)
“More killer guitar. I listened to this on headphones over and over when I was younger.”
2. Radiohead
OK Computer (1997)
“Everyone in an indie rock band that is my age was hit hard by this record. It was like a sledgehammer… so heavy.”
1. Marvin Gaye
What’s Going On (1971)
“The only record here I was sure about for this list. There hasn’t ever been a time I could remember when this record would not instantly put me in a better mood than I had been in before. His singing, the wonderful songs, the incredible musicians… I would give a finger to be able to go back in time and have played on this record.”