I don't recall Jason ever denouncing it. But he did generally reply to MBV comparisons with something along the lines of "We're not nearly as brilliant as they were."
Maybe you're thinking of J. Edward Keyes. In his Sf59 biography from the Easy Come, Easy Go liner notes, he insisted that Sf59 sounds nothing like MBV, and confessed that the comparison just ticks him off.
I think I found what was talked about in the Pop Matters interview in regards to MBV. He basically said there shouldn't be any comparison because MBV made great records and he didn't. I would quote it if I wasn't on a phone.