We’d like to extend our condolences to the talented Melissa Young, whose mother passed away earlier this week. Melissa tells SoulTracks:

“Sadly, my mom, Mary F. Young passed away on Tuesday, January 19th.  We just celebrated her 72 birthday on Friday, January 15th.  My mom resided in Greenville, SC and is survived by Charles E. Young, my dad, and 8 children, and a host of grandchildren and great grandchildren.  My mom and dad had been married for 53 years.

The Young family wishes to thank everyone for the large outpouring of kindness and support during our time of grief.

SERVICES INFO:
Saturday, January 23
2:00pm
S C Franks Chapel-Remembrance715 Augusta Street, Greenville, SC 29605-3840(864) 233-8361″

Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Ian Dury forgot one thing: food.

Every musician likes food–making it, eating it, avoiding it, owning it. Possibly due to their excessive devotion to the aforementioned Holy Trinity of Bacchus, the most obsessed relish an unholy brew of sleep deprivation, delusions of grandeur and of course, booze and pill-addled guts. But when it’s all said and done, they still need a taste of something wholesome (or just whole). Or maybe these dilettantes just enjoy putting strange things in their mouths.

Some roll down the crazy-ass diet path, like Beyonce. She isn’t the only musical devotee of the Master Cleanse, but she’s definitely the most outspoken (most would shy away from blabbing about how they consume nothing but water, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and lemon for weeks on end, but Sasha Fierce likes to keep it real). For coverage of her ridiculous scale-tipping roller-coaster ride, check out Australia’s The Age.

Others have relationships with food that are as complex and ultimately sad as Lindsay Lohan’s love triangle du jour: Kings of Leon’s Caleb Followill struggled for years with anorexia, something I wouldn’t expect from a guy who spent his childhood on the road with itinerant Pentecostal preacher dad. A pampered NYC Gossip Boy, maybe, but a rough and tumble Southerner? Not so much. But Followill may just be the most visible victim of a silent epidemic sweeping the indie world: An interesting piece over at the Huffington Post argues that emaciated indie stars are launching a rash of eating disorders in guys.

And some are so obsessed with food they feel compelled to become restaurateurs in order to push their various insidious dietary agendas on a drooling public and fanbase (Moby’s teany vegan café, Justin Timberlake’s decidedly non-vegan meat fest, Southern Hospitality BBQ, Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain’s Rock N Roll Ribs). While their fans may love the posh noshes, food critics at The New York Times aren’t as eager to jump on the food bandwagon.

But only the truly obsessed actually name themselves after comestibles. Here’s to Neutral Milk Hotel, Iron and Wine, Cake, Moldy Peaches, Peaches, Appleseed Cast and Sugar, all leading the way to a yummier and more delicious-sounding tomorrow.

Dallas duo Smile Smile are playing the Living Room Thursday February 4, and we’ve got two tickets up for grabs. The band has toured with Metric, Mat Kearney and Loretta Lynn, and they’ve been described as “Mazzy Star-meets-Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.” Their new album, Truth on Tape, is out February 9.

And Brooklyn fashionistas on a budget will be happy to get their hands on a $100 gift certificate to Peachfrog, the discount store all the kids are trying to keep a secret. They even have a store dog.

To score two tickets to the show and a $100 gift certificate, tell us your favorite double-name band. (Hint: A lot of them are British). Send your response to blog@uncensoredinterview.com.

Thanks to Unscene Urban Navigator, Peachfrog and The MuseBox.

Alright, we’ll jump in and give this story some more fuel, if only because record sale figures are pretty fascinating in today’s highly pirated digital world. New York indie darlings Vampire Weekend reached No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart with their sophomore record Contra via XL. Released January 12, the album sold 124,000 copies its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Their self-titled debut has sold 490,000 copies to date.

Billboard reports Contra is “the 12th independently distributed album to top the Billboard 200 chart since SoundScan began powering the list in May of 1991.” Others on that list include Pearl Jam’s 2009 independent release Backspacer. The album was also available one day early for $3.99 via Amazon. The retailer now sells it for $9.49.

Reviews are a bit mixed, but no matter your opinion of the band or their influence, it’s pretty cool to see an indie push make a mark in the pop-led landscape.

Food, glorious food–an everyday staple that has inspired artists in every genre for millennia. From the Paleolithic painters of Altamira who sketched out visions of animals they hoped to nosh, to the life-altering Madeleine tea cake in Proust’s “Remembrance of Things Past,” humble comestibles have transformed high and low-brow culture forever.

And nowhere is this more true than in the wonderful world of music, where artists make it a solemn practice of indulging in and titillating all of our appetites. Below, check out my top picks for songs that make me hungry for food…and lovin’.

4. Kool & the Gang’s “Chocolate Buttermilk”: Yes, it’s an instrumental. But damn if I’m not licking my slavering lips by the end of the funk and horn-heavy classic, torn between biting into a hunk of chocolate cake or using it for naughtier purposes of which my old Sunday school teachers would most certainly disapprove. Check out the boys in top form below. And if you feel the need to feed, git to the kitchen with ya and make a chocolate buttermilk cake. What you do with that cake when it’s baked and frosted is totally up to you.

3. Prince & the New Power Generation’s “Cream”: No one except a man who I could snap over my knee like a twig (but still strangely find incorrigibly sexy and who spent much of his career insisting upon being alluded to as a symbol), could possibly  turn the most innocuous, pure and innocent edible ingredient into a vehicle for the most debauched, dirty and exxxperienced expression of sonic sex. Incidentally, he allegedly wrote the double-entrendre-loaded ballad while gazing at himself in the mirror. Whip up some cream and indulge in your most hedonistic instincts.

2. Primus’ “Pudding Time”: While funk metal fusion is not typically my first go-to genre of choice when attempting to get in the mood (for anything), Primus possesses an unparalleled ability to make me want to stuff oozing globs of bittersweet, gelatinous chocolate goo into my gob. Spoon into this recipe from Smitten Kitchen while listening to “Pudding Time” to get your juices flowing.

1. Fats Waller’s “You’re Not the Only Oyster in the Stew”: What the song lacks in subtlety it makes up for in smooth delivery. The jazz maestro makes singing about various vaginas he could sample seem positively PG,  which just makes it all so much smuttier. (Listening to this song is the equivalent of stumbling upon an undiscovered film of Mary Poppins indulging in a little light S&M with Mr. Banks). He also makes me crave a creamy, pungent crock of oyster stew a la the Food Network’s Paula Deen in bed with a bottle of bubbly and a little company.

The 11th annual Coachella Music and Arts Festival lineup features headliners Jay-Z, Muse and Gorillaz, in addition to LCD Soundystem, Them Crooked Vultures, Faith No More, Tiësto, Pavement and–possibly–Thom Yorke. Event organizers Golden Voice are seemingly playing coy on whether the environmental advocate will attend, but EW.com has an explanation.

The three-day fest held at Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif. April 16-18, 2010 includes dozens of other acts, from quirky types like Yo La Tengo and Dirty Projectors to indie favorites Grizzly Bear and Vampire Weekend.  David Guetta and Kaskade hold down the dance floor, while hip-hop fans will appreciate P.O.S.,  Z-Trip and Flying Lotus.

And did we mention the reunions? Or at least bands you might as well see while you can? Sunny Day Real Estate, Grace Jones, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Specials, Sly & the Family Stone and, of course, Faith No More, who spent much of last year on a world tour. Additional North American dates have not yet been announced.

Uncensored Interviewees performing include The xx, Matt and Kim, Little Boots, Beach House, Hockey, Frightened Rabbit, Mew, Ra Ra Riot, The Temper Trap and The Soft Pack.

Check out the full lineup, and find ticket and camping information at Coachella’s website.

The memorial for 29-year-old Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., better known to rock fans as Jay Reatard, will be held tomorrow in Memphis.

“Reatard’s memorial service will take place at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Memorial Park Funeral Home, located at 5668 Poplar Avenue in Memphis. It is open to the public,” according to Pitchfork.

Local Memphis Fox affiliate reported yesterday that police had launched a homicide investigation in his death, but the story has since been removed from their website. The musician was found dead when police arrived at his house at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.