Overview of How Long Gone #967 with Matthew Schnipper
This episode mixes travel banter, hotel-and-car luxury talk, and a deeply personal interview with Matthew Schnipper, the culture editor at WNYC/Gothamist, whose new book Rise Above explores grief after the sudden death of his 22-month-old son. The conversation moves between humor, music nerdery, and honest reflection on how art, underground scenes, and even ridiculous old metal shirts can become part of the grieving process.
Opening Banter: England, Wimbledon, and Luxury Hotel Life
Chris Black checks in from Oxfordshire, England, staying at Estelle Manor while on a Range Rover trip tied to Wimbledon and an auto-related visit near the Jaguar Land Rover area.
Travel / lifestyle notes
- Chris describes landing jet-lagged, then recovering with:
- three coffees
- a swim
- sun
- gym time
- He and Jason joke about:
- the appeal of being picked up in a new Range Rover
- the hotel’s pool, fireplace, cigar menu, and country-house vibe
- wanting the entire property to themselves
Matthew Schnipper’s New Role and Book
Schnipper says he’s now the culture editor at WNYC and Gothamist, joking that he’d like his title changed to “chief taste officer.”
About Rise Above
- The book is a memoir about life after the death of his young son.
- It focuses on the practical, ordinary, and emotional aftermath of grief, not just the headline event.
- Schnipper says writing the book helped him process the experience and survive day-to-day life.
Grief, Childhood Illness, and Processing Pain
A major theme is how Schnipper’s earlier health struggles shaped the way he dealt with loss later in life.
Childhood illness
- He describes being a very sick kid and having his colon removed, leaving him with a temporary colostomy bag as a teenager.
- That experience made him familiar with pain, difference, and feeling outside the norm.
How the book helped
- Writing became an exorcism-like process:
- he wrote daily
- he used the writing to process anger
- some material was cut because it was too raw or too much like an emotional purge
- He says the book is about the “smaller, dumber moments” of grief as much as the huge life-altering one.
Music as a Coping Tool
The conversation repeatedly returns to music as emotional infrastructure.
Songs and artists discussed
- Dua Lipa – “Levitating”
- Played during his son’s memorial ritual
- Became an unexpected but meaningful “fight song”
- Blade
- Schnipper highlights the line: “I put a window in a wall”
- He describes the lyric as strangely profound and life-affirming during grief
- Bill Callahan
- Callahan read the audiobook version of Rise Above
- Schnipper had a fun conversation with him about Blade
- Henry Rollins
- Schnipper once hoped Rollins would help him make sense of his life
- Jason and Chris riff on Rollins’ seriousness, legacy, and whether he’s secretly wealthy
- Black Flag / Rollins Band / hardcore
- They discuss reunion shows, aging scenes, and how older bands sometimes lose the plot
Metal, Hardcore, and the Culture of Band Shirts
A big chunk of the interview is devoted to Schnipper’s relationship with extreme music and the aesthetics around it.
What changed
- After his son died, Schnipper went through his collection of death metal shirts and got rid of many of them.
- He says some of the imagery suddenly felt cartoonish or “Disney World”-like in the face of real pain.
What they talk about
- Cannibal Corpse
- Napalm Death
- Immolation
- Morbid Angel
- I Hate God
- Whiskeytown
- Pavement
- Silver Jews
- Godflesh
- Converge
- Earth Crisis
- The Crow soundtrack as a gateway to Henry Rollins and Suicide
Scene / subculture observations
- They joke about:
- Depop and eBay as places to buy rare vintage shirts
- the difference between authentic and poser culture
- how older hardcore scenes were rougher, while newer ones are more inclusive
- “crowd killing” and modern hardcore etiquette
- Schnipper says underground music gave him a sense of belonging when he was young and sick.
Personal Life: F1, Work, and the Everyday
The back half of the conversation turns lighter again.
Family / hobbies
- Schnipper’s wife is heavily into Formula 1
- He says he has learned a lot about racing just by being around her passion
- He jokes that she doesn’t drive, which makes her obsession even funnier
Work-life and taste
- Schnipper speaks fondly of being around people who are obsessed with something
- He frames editing/culture work as a way of staying connected to curiosity and passion
Key Takeaways
- Rise Above is a grief memoir, but it’s written through everyday details, humor, and music culture rather than solemnity alone.
- Schnipper’s story connects:
- childhood illness
- underground music
- parenthood
- sudden loss
- the weird objects and songs that carry emotional meaning
- The episode balances sharp comedy and real vulnerability, which is very on-brand for How Long Gone.
Notable Lines / Ideas
- “Rise above, not sink below” — the book’s core attitude
- “I put a window in a wall” — Blade lyric that Schnipper treats like a philosophical breakthrough
- The idea that grief can make familiar cultural artifacts feel totally different overnight