Manhattan hooks many of the best New York City gigs, but Brooklyn has scored one of the most interesting concert series of the young year. The Brooklyn Academy of Music celebrates the music of Paul Simon by presenting Love In The Hard Times, an extraordinary three-part series with performances from Simon, David Byrne, Grizzly Bear, Little Anthony and the Imperials and several others.

Songs From The Capeman starts things off on April 1-6 with its Latin-flavored songs and ’50s doo-wop feel. On April 9-13 Simon, Byrne and a number of other guests present Under African Skies, which explores the material from Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints. Finally, Simon revisits the quiet railway stations, urban rhythms, and immigrant dreams of his greatest American Tunes on April 21-27.

Now here’s a batch of other linkage to help you beat those mid-week blues:

• Levon Helm and Gov’t Mule are just two of the big names in the initial Mountain Jam lineup announcement
• Gnarls Barkley returns in April with the release of The Odd Couple
• Cracked lists Six Musicians With Pasts They Hope You’ll Forget
• Is Sendspace next? Ze Germans attempt to take down Rapidshare
• Neil Young explains the latest delays to his Archives series
• Deaner blogs about a brown dining experience on Ween tour
• The Greenhaus Effect reveals the winners of the 2007 Mikey Awards

Finally, read on for the latest brilliant episode from the Yacht Rock crew. Sit back and watch the story of Kenny Loggins writing Footloose starring Jason Lee…