Mike Doughty
Smofe + Smang
If I can't have Soul Coughing, I'll take this. Happily.

An SC live show was not to be missed, due in no small part to Doughty's grainy-voiced energy and irony. He's a helluva good showman, which makes this a helluva good live record. (And for the record, live records are not my friend.) This one's 25 tracks big, packed with Doughty's self-described small rock. Sure enough, it's just him and his impossibly percussive guitar, bringing us new word candy/rock poetry. Speaking as someone who read the dictionary three times as a kid, Doughty's phrasing has always done me in. I expected to hear favorites from his self-released disc Skittish — but color me surprised to hear a few old SC gems like "True Dreams of Wichita," "Soft Serve" and the rarely-performed-live "Janine."

Love him or hate him, it's hard to deny the small rock.