Krist Novoselic Addresses Buzz Osborne’s ‘Montage of Heck’ Criticism

Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne made a number of comments bashing the Kurt Cobain documentary Montage of Heck when it came out last summer, claiming that source material was taken out of context, targeting Courtney Love’s role in the film and calling it “90 percent … bullshit.” Now, close to a year later, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic – who appeared as a talking head in the film and contributed archival audio and footage to it – has weighed in.

“That’s just Buzz,” he tells Rolling Stone, shrugging off the criticisms. “He’s always been like that, but we love him so we just accept him for that. He’s always had these opinions. Like, ‘Oh, there goes Buzz again.’ You never know what he’s gonna say, but he means well, and he’s a great musician. He’s been a dear friend for a long time. That’s the way it is.”

Novoselic recently recorded a song with Melvins for their Basses Loaded album, due in June. The record finds the sludge-rock group’s core – Osborne and drummer Dale Crover – playing with a selection of their bass-playing friends, including current and former members of Redd Kross, Butthole Surfers and Big Business. The Nirvana four-stringer contributed to a tune called “Maybe I Am Amused,” on which he plays bass and accordion.

Longtime friends of Nirvana, Melvins’ Osborne encouraged Cobain and Novoselic to check out Dave Grohl during his Scream days, and Crover played on numerous Nirvana recordings, including three tracks on the band’s 1989 debut, Bleach.

“It’s always fun to play with Buzz and Dale,” Novoselic says. “I brought my accordion and my bass down, and we just played some grungy heavy things. I had these tunes that were super pop, like with major chords and sevenths; those really, poppy things. So we just busted out some music.”

“It’s a really great track,” Osborne told Rolling Stone earlier this month. “It’s different than pretty much anything we would have done. Really cool. I would love to work more with him. … We’re lucky to have that amount with him.”