In the world of New York punk and hardcore, Walter Schreifels is a legendary figure. Schreifels played skey roles in massively important ’80s hardcore bands like Youth Of Today and Gorilla Biscuits. In the ’90s, he moved on to more experimental post-hardcore styles with his bands Quicksand and Rival Schools. All of those groups are now revered, and all of them are playing reunion shows. At this year’s Riot Fest, Schreifels will play with Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand, and Rival Schools. Busy guy!

Schreifels has always been vocal about how early-’90s shoegaze, My Bloody Valentine in particular, catalyzed his shift from Gorilla Biscuits to Quicksand. For the video series “Song That Found Me At The Right Time,” which is created by the nonprofit Sounds Of Saving, Schreifels has now covered “Don’t Ask Why,” a song from MBV’s 1990 EP Glider.

In his video, Schreifels talks about the sense of empowerment that he drew from the New York hardcore scene and from therapy, and he also plays a solo-acoustic version of the Gorilla Biscuits classic “High Hopes.” Schreifels talks about being depressed when he first heard My Bloody Valentine and says, “This song in particular just sounded like something that I’ve felt that had never been expressed.” Below, watch Schreifels’ video — his solo-acoustic MBV cover starts at the 6:23 mark — and listen to My Bloody Valentine’s original.

Check out our We’ve Got A File On You interview with Walter Schreifels here.