“The point is: it’s very important that what you do is specific to the medium in which you’re doing it, and that you utilise what is specific about that medium to do the work. And if you can’t think about why it should be done this way, then it doesn’t need to be done.” Charlie Kaufman revisits his writing of Being John Malkovich.

• At SPIN, Rich Juzwiak looks at a number of unsettling recent cases of homophobia in indie rock.

• Alex Ross with notes on Portishead, St. Vincent, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, and more.

• Marlene Zuk looks at Hannah Nordhaus’s The Beekeeper’s Lament.