We hope as you enjoy your weekend you’ll also find some time to kick back and survey some of the best writing from around the web.

• Afterward: David Bowie, by Stuart Berman, for Pitchfork.
  • “David Bowie is not simply the prettiest star—he’s a constellation. No matter which Bowie you first encountered—the orange-haired alien androgyne of Ziggy Stardust, the creepy clown in the “Ashes to Ashes” video, the louche lothario of the Let’s Dance era, or even the guy refereeing Derek Zoolander’s walk-offs—you were instantly disarmed by his style, sophistication, and presence. But Bowie was the rare rock legend whose mythology is defined more by his intellectual curiosities than his cocaine-fuelled debauchery.”

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  The Unforgettable Villainy of Alan Rickman in “Die Hard”, by Richard Brody, for The New Yorker.

  • “Rickman would go on to play dozens of memorable characters onscreen, including Professor Severus Snape in all eight Harry Potter movies, as well as to write and perform for the stage. But, for philistines like me (and, it seems, for many others), Rickman was—and now always will be—Hans Gruber, the toothy, perfectly manicured, sphinxlike villain from the 1988 action movie “Die Hard.”

• A Shakespearean Guide to the 2016 Democratic Primary, by Emily Uecker, For McSweeney’s.
  • Someone has found Shakespearean couplets for each candidate (and some non-candidates!).

Enjoy your weekend and we’ll see you next week!