Reclusive former Smashing Pumpkins bassist D’arcy Wretzky called a Chicago radio program yesterday to answer questions about where she’s been and what she’s been up to since quitting the band in 1999. Along with revealing that she lives on a horse farm in Michigan, Wretzky also took the opportunity to relate a story about Marilyn Manson’s parents and express her appreciation for the Monkees’ Davy Jones. [Pitchfork.com]

Prodigal neo-soul son Maxwell is on top of Billboard’s current release chart with his fourth album, BLACKsummers’night. Although Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 albums still rule the top 12 spots on most of the charts, Maxwell’s first album in 8 years has sold over 316, 000 copies in its first week of release. [MTV.com]

The Rapture’s bassist, Matt Safer, has quit the New York-based band. In a blog posting, the band announced Safer’s departure as well as news that they’ve begun working on new material, which will most likely appear during the Rapture’s Australia’s Parklife Festival performance in September. [NME.com]

NPR will broadcast live coverage of the upcoming Newport Folk and Jazz Festival in Newport, RI, on August 1st and 2nd. Two free samplers (one folk, one jazz) comprising songs from the festival’s artists can currently be downloaded from NPR’s website. [NPR.org]

Pearl Jam debuted a new single, “Fixer,” during last night’s broadcast of the Major League Baseball All-Star game. The song will appear on the band’s ninth-studio album, “Backspacer,” which is slated to drop Sept. 20th. [Billboard.com]

The blogger who leaked tracks off Guns ‘N Roses’ 2008 album Chinese Democracy has been sentenced to appear in an anti-piracy commercial, as well as a year’s probation and two months of home confinement. Kevin Cogill, who posted nine songs from GNR’s album on the internet, had been facing a maximum of one year in federal prison, a $100,000 fine, and five years’ probation. [BBC.com]