At a time when empathy is considered a dirty word in some circles, the only safe place left for drunks, petty criminals, and other undesirables might be in the songs of a man who once described himself as a “tree-huggin’, peace-lovin’, pot-smokin’, porn-watchin’, lazy-ass hippie.” Todd Snider embraces losers with a bear hug and a generously mixed beverage on The Excitement Plan, but don’t dismiss this perpetually barefoot singer-songwriter as just another laid-back dude toting an acoustic guitar and a feel-good ditty. Beneath the disheveled exterior is an ace storyteller with a Raymond Carver-esque gift for mapping out the troubled contours of a character’s life with a few well-chosen details.