Todd Snider, one of the sharpest songwriters in Nashville and, by extension, America, meets Time Out at his in-laws’ apartment on a gloomy Friday morning. As Snider walks to the elevator, he strums a borrowed acoustic guitar. A neighbor passes the singer and shrugs. “Sounds good,” he says. Snider walks up Broadway to Madison Square Park, tuning and strumming as he passes commuters in the thick of the morning rush. The singer parks himself by Shake Shack’s ordering board. While Shake Shack employees set up shop for the day, Snider sings “Slim Chance,” the leadoff track from his lovely new album, The Excitement Plan. Below is Snider’s performance; after the jump, the singer talks about his album. (Todd Snider plays Bowery Ballroom Thursday 11.)
Below, Snider discusses “Slim Chance” and his new album, The Excitement Plan. (The singer also talked to Time Out in 2004 and 2006.)