Melvins founder Buzz Osborne published his thoughts on Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck over on The TalkHouse. He didn’t hesitate to say what he really thought about the film — especially if it was critical. Osborne called into question several key points of the film and led it all off with the money quote you see in the headline:
First off, people need to understand that 90% of Montage of Heck is bullsh*t. Total bullsh*t. That’s the one thing no one gets about Cobain — he was a master of jerking your chain.
From there he highlights several points — the story regarding sex with a handicapped girl in high school, attempting suicide on the train tracks, and Cobain’s insistence that there was something wrong with his stomach. All bullsh*t according to Osborne:
At least they spared us the horrendously overblown tale of him living under a bridge in Aberdeen. Another bullsh*t story. As far as I know, Kurt never set foot under any bridge in that town, let alone lived under one. That whole idea is romanticized crazy-talk for glassy-eyed, stoned teenagers and pathetic, middle-aged, rock & roll morons.
The heaviest hand falls at the claims of Courtney Love’s role in the film. Osborne claims that much of what Love says throughout the film is suspect at best, pulling examples in his piece to highlight claims:
And then there’s Courtney.
A lot of what she says in this documentary doesn’t exactly jibe with things Kurt told me himself, but I suppose that’s not surprising when you consider history becomes elastic every time Courtney Love opens her mouth.
For instance, she’d have us believe that Kurt tried to off himself when she’d only thought about cheating on him?
Wow. That’s a whole lot different from the stories he told me in regards to Courtney’s behavior — and this was well before he ended up dead. And that’s just one example.
When Courtney speaks, the truth is certainly there, but God only knows where it begins and ends.
He also notes that seeing Love naked is “akin to staring into the sun,” and that he did enjoy the animation in the film — despite the bulk of it standing as “not a happy experience.”
He’s certainly not the first to bring into question the validity of the film, but it’s also hard to question the word of one person with the word of another. You can decide personally, but the claims aren’t really concrete enough to say the film is actually correct compared to something like, say, Soaked In Bleach.
Osborne’s entire piece is an interesting read, though, and well worth the time to go through it– even if you enjoyed Montage of Heck. It adds that differing viewpoint that isn’t completely insane or teetering on conspiracy.
(Via The Talkhouse)
