This week on Open Tabs: a monologue that emotionally restructured a generation, a live cover that will wreck your Sunday, a Murakami novel soaked in quiet grief, some Rick Rubin wisdom, and an ice cream truck that deserves a record deal. Enjoy.

1. Good Will Hunting: Emotional Surgery, Boston Edition

Some monologues live underneath your ribcage rent-free. This is one of them. Robin Williams on a park bench in Boston, gently dismantling Matt Damon’s entire emotional firewall like a licensed soul surgeon. It’s a masterclass in psychological disarmament.

“You don’t know about real loss, ’cause it only occurs when you’ve loved something more than you love yourself. And I doubt you ever dared to love anybody that much.”

One line. Total devastation.
Will tried to flex. Sean cut through him like warm butter.
Emotional surgery. Still undefeated.

2. John Legend: “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (Live, 2013)

North Sea Jazz Fest.
John. A piano. And the ghost of his late grandmother.

His cover of this Simon & Garfunkel classic turns dental-office Muzak into a full-on gut punch in G major. Thousands of people weeping into plastic cups.

Spiritual carnage.
Would watch again.

3. Haruki Murakami: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

Murakami doesn’t write fiction. He writes about unresolved trauma with excellent taste in music. This book is about a young man haunted by his friends who abandoned him.

Soft, ambient grief, soaked in melancholy.
Highly recommended for anyone currently avoiding the group chat.

Favorite excerpt:

“People came to him, but in the end, they always left. They came, seeking something, but either they couldn’t find it or were unhappy with what they found (or else they were disappointed or angry), and then they left. One day, without warning, they vanished, with no explanation, no word of farewell. Like a silent hatchet had sliced the ties between them, ties through which warm blood still flowed, along with a quiet pulse.”

4. Rick Rubin on Letting Go and Creative Flow

Rubin, eternal barefoot monk of music vibes and volume knobs, doesn’t believe in forcing it. Or planning. Or… pants. He also hasn’t checked a calendar since 1998.

In this episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, he says the secret to creative ingenuity is not trying so hard. It’s basically therapy, sponsored by Def Jam.

Favorite morsel:

Meditate. Be still. Open.
Let the good stuff find you.

5. Bomb Pops, Bass & Subwoofer Soft Serve

This is what the algorithm gets right—once a month, by accident.

An ice cream truck rolls through the block, blasting beats. The boys start hitting the Gritty like rent’s due. It’s 100°F and nobody cares about inflation.

This is why we stay online.
This is why we still believe.

🪴 You did it! You made it to the end of Open Tabs. Now, go ahead and whisper “great newsletter” to the houseplants.

Quick recap, because time is fake and I’m paying for hosting:

  1. One surgical monologue (Good Will Hunting)
  2. A legendary jazz eulogy (John Legend’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”)
  3. An existential reflection (Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage)
  4. A creative oracle’s prophecy (Rick Rubin)
  5. An ice cream truck’s mixtape

Respect.
You’ve earned a snack. A nap. Possibly a digital detox.

→ Forward to a friend.
→ Or don’t. I’m not your mother.

Did you enjoy this nonsense? Subscribe to leave a comment or a tip.
If not, it’s cool. I’ll just assume you hate joy.

Either way, see you next week with more Open Tabs.