Buzz Osborne Continues to Bash ‘Montage of Heck’
Last week, Melvins founder Buzz Osborne wrote a scathing review of the new documentary Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck for The Talkhouse, criticizing the film as being “90 percent. . . bullshit.” Now the musician has reinforced his stance on Brett Morgen’s acclaimed project in an interview with Riff You, saying he’s baffled that fans trust the movie’s accuracy simply because of its association with family members, including Courtney Love.
“If they want to take [Love’s] word for things, then go ahead,” he said. “Do you feel better? Then everything she says is the golden rule. Absolutely. If that makes them feel better, it’s fine by me. I just don’t understand how anybody could possibly defend her. If they want to defend her or take the side of the filmmaker, go ahead. How is that my fault? How am I to blame for that? Like I said in my article: ‘Facts don’t make any difference. What matters is what people believe.’ The ‘truth’ about [Cobain’s] situation has always been false. So there you go…utter fabrication. That’s never not been the case.”
Osborne said he was “asked to review” the film and “never would’ve watched it otherwise,” affirming that his critique was intended to stand up for the Nirvana songwriter, “a friend that isn’t around to defend himself.”
“I don’t understand how anyone could see it another way,” he continued. “If they want to argue and say that I’m wrong, then okay, I’ll play their game. Would they feel better if Kurt Cobain did ‘fuck a fat retard.’ Do they feel better now? Do they feel better if he actually was suicidal? That makes you feel better? None of that’s true. I don’t think that’s a good legacy for him to have out there. I know it’s not true. It’s that simple.”
In his review, the musician claimed there’s no truth to stories of Cobain attempting suicide on train tracks or trying to sleep with a developmentally challenged girl from his high school. But Osborne told Riff You that he “wasn’t surprised” by the accused inaccuracies. “I’m never surprised, because generally speaking, [Cobain’s story] has never been right,” he said. “It never has been in the past. I would’ve been surprised if it were right on.”
Osborne noted that he wasn’t asked to be a part of Montage of Heck, though he “didn’t care about that,” and added that he’s gaining “absolutely nothing from being honest about this.”
“[Morgen’s] the one who is gaining, not me,” he said. “If he believes [the stories], I don’t care, that’s fine with me. He can do that. But I don’t have to go along with that.”