Ondi Timoner’s wildly entertaining documentary tells a familiar rock n’ roll tale, one filled with crazy nights, substance abuse, out-of-control parties, temper tantrums, art-versus-commerce debates, “musical differences,” onstage fights, and smashed sitars. What makes DIG! so electrifying is that you see it all unfold in front of the cameras, as Timoner follows the highs and lows of two bands — the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols — over the course of seven years.

The eye of this hurricane is BJM frontman Anton Newcombe, a walking anachronism and true believer who seems straight out of 1968 and worships at the altar of the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and Love. Part genius, part snake-oil salesman, part megalomaniac, Newcombe truly believes the BJM are here to start a full-scale rock revolution. He picks the Courtney Taylor-led Dandy Warhols, with their similarly punning name and druggy riffs, as allies in the war.

The Dandys have just signed with Capitol Records as DIG! begins in 1996, and the BJM looks to be the target of a major-label bidding war. But a showcase at L.A.’s Viper Room before a crowd of A&R people quickly turns into an onstage brawl involving nearly every member of the band. It’s indicative of what’s to follow: As the Dandys’ career takes off, Newcombe’s admiration for Taylor turns to jealousy and spite, and the BJM burns through band members like disposable lighters… (Barnes & Noble)

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Italian fabulist Italo Calvino observed that there are two kinds of artists–those who are prolific and successful, and the tortured geniuses, each gazing at the other in deep jealousy and admiration. The two rock bands chronicled in the documentary DiG! fall easily into this equation. On the side of the tortured geniuses is the Brian Jonestown Massacre, led by the psychedelic and volatile Anton Newcombe.

Portland’s the Dandy Warhols, fronted by Courtney Taylor, fulfill the role of the artists who, while unable to plumb the artistic depths of their friendly rivals, achieve a fair degree of popular acclaim (in Europe, anyway). Shot over seven years and containing some astonishingly intimate footage, the film represents a labor of love for director Ondi Timoner, who befriended, lived, and traveled with the bands.

DiG! will likely be most remembered for a remarkable scene of rock and roll implosion–a show in LA’s Viper Room after which the Brian Jonestown Massacre were expected to ink a record deal. Instead, the band erupted in a fist fight onstage. Among themselves. Does it go uphill or downhill from here? Depends on your definition of the terms.

While dooming their careers, the Brian Jonestown Massacre manage to crank out an insane number of self-distributed albums–including three records in a single year. Courtney Taylor and the Dandies regard the musical output of their peers worshipfully and find themselves virtually ignored stateside but huge stars across… (Amazon)