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As pretty much everyone knows by now, Radiohead released their new album, In Rainbows, today. The album isn’t available in stores or on iTunes, only directly from Radiohead. The band basically shocked the music industry when they announced on October 1st that they would be releasing this album themselves, without the backing of a label. A much bigger deal was the fact that there would be no set price for this album. Instead, Radiohead believed that people, when given the choice, would pay a fair price for the album.

This is genius, and actually works, for so many reasons. First, they didn’t release any promotional copies to radio stations, stream new songs on MySpace (they don’t even have an official page), or allow the album to leak in any way. They merely announced 9 days ago that they had a new album coming out and told you where you could get it.

I don’t want to go into a track by track assessment of the album. I’ve already read enough blogs doing that. Most of them did a great job doing so.

The reviews that have interested me the most on this topic are actually from marketing blogs. Cory Treffiletti, one of my favorite industry writers, recently posted about Radiohead’s release and raised several questions, one of which was basically, is this the new music industry model for new albums? While this is an interesting question, I think it really misses the point.

The point is this. There is no model.

This isn’t just for the record industry. It’s becoming true of all types of media. From movies, to television, to radio, to yes, the record industry. The old way of doing things isn’t working and people are searching feverishly for the new way to do things. But why look for a new model that will one day just be outdated and irrelevant?

This is such an exciting time in media and business in general, not because we are looking for new business models, but because we can be completely creative with how we promote and market each and every new product.

So when another band releases a new album, why should they follow what Radiohead has done? Think of a new way to promote and sell your album. There is no model. Creativity is the model and it doesn’t need to resemble what has been done in the past or what others are doing. It just needs to work for the consumer.

Yes, this is not always the most efficient way of doing business, and some may say sounds a bit naive. But what are the other options?

That’s right. The best show on television can be viewed on Comcast On Demand right now. Season 1 will be available until October 28. Then, hopefully they will continue playing the other seasons up until Season 5 premieres in January 2008.

I watched episode 1 last night. Even though I’ve seen it before, I still love watching The Wire. This show is just so well written and real. So much so that it can almost be hard to watch some times. Season 1 is really focused on the drug game and the battle between Avon Barksdale’s crew and the police. The most notable quote from this episode is when Carver, a detective, says this about the drug war. “You can’t call this a war.” Why’s that? “War’s end.”

I really got into The Wire last season and then went back and watched the others. David Simon and Co. did an amazing job with Season 4. The introduction of the school system and the 8th grade class really put the show over the top for me. Now we saw not only what these drug dealers were doing as adults, but where they came from and the circumstances that pushed them into this lifestyle.

You see this very clearly in the 4 main boys in the 8th grade class. Each of them has the opportunity to choose the drug game or a different life. I say choose, but maybe that’s not the correct word. It doesn’t really feel like a choice for most of them.

I am beyond excited for Season 5. According to IMDB, this season will only have 10 episodes, so I expect each one to be top notch. Set your DVRs. This will be worth watching.

Last night, I ran my fastest 3-mile run to date. My overall pace was 7:57 per mile, finally breaking that 8-minute mile time. Yesterday was a beautiful, hot, humid October day. After a somewhat trying day at work the run was exactly what I needed.

I decided to run to the song Let Down by Radiohead on repeat. It’s a beautiful song, but not something you’d think of as a running song. For whatever reason, I just wanted the repetition of that song over and over. And each time the song restarted, it was just as good as the first time.

Speaking of Radiohead, their new album, In Rainbows, comes out tomorrow. They’ve also decided to release this album themselves and allow you to pay whatever you want for the download. Get the album or read more details.

I also read yesterday that a new David Bazan album is in the works and should be coming out in early 2008. I can’t wait for that. Everything David Bazan does is amazing. I saw him on an acoustic tour with Ben Gibbard a few months back and it was fantastic.

So, to wrap up this disjointed blog, here is a David Bazan cover of Radiohead’s Let Down (it’s track 5). You didn’t think I was going to be able to pull this all together, did you?

I’m sure just about everyone saw last year’s highly praised Dove campaign entitled “Evolution”. The short film depicts a seemingly average looking woman being transformed by makeup, lighting, and Photoshop, into a beautiful supermodel. For those of you who did not see it, or need a refresher, here’s the video:

Today, Dove launched their follow-up to Evolution with a short film called, “Onslaught”. Here it is:

As you can see, Onslaught shows the insane barrage of “beauty” messages that young girls receive on a daily basis. This campaign directly supports the Dove Self-Esteem Fund, with the goal of reaching 5 million girls by 2010.

Although some may see this as just another marketing ploy, it seems to me that Dove truly believes in the message of what they call “Real Beauty”. Meaning that all woman are beautiful and don’t need cosmetic surgery, or infomercial products to become so. They’ve also created an actual non-profit that includes programs for girls and their families. They’ve moved beyond just an advertiser and are taking a position as an organization that values women enough to create programs that help them.

Of course, Dove and Unilever would not be going this route if it wasn’t good for business. While that may make some cynical about Dove’s intentions, think of the alternative. Would you rather them be telling your daughter that she needs the latest makeup, clothes, jewelry, etc., etc. to be accepted?

Besides being very well done, Onslaught and Evolution are also, in some small way, showing perhaps the beginnings of a cultural shift. Not to say that this is the end of crash diets and liposuction, but maybe people are again starting to see beauty in others and in themselves that is different than what is being shown on MTV and in Star Magazine.

Let me run an idea by you. This is one of the things that I really enjoy about blogging. Sometimes you just need to get an idea down, and see if it’s worth pursuing.

As anyone who knows me in real life knows, each winter for the past 5 years, whatever house I’ve lived in has hosted a large, semi-formal Christmas Party. Each year seems to get bigger and even more fun. Last year was an absolute blast. Throughout the night we probably had 150 people in our Hampden duplex, each of whom was well-dressed, somewhat well-behaved, and definitely enjoying themselves.

An idea came to me this morning, as we have already begun planning this year’s party.

All of the talk these days in the marketing and advertising industry is about having a conversation with your consumer. No longer can companies build successful campaigns solely on TV spots and print ads. Today, it’s all about engaging your potential customers and turning them into product evangelists, or at least loyal customers.

So, instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars on TV commercials and blasting your message out to 2 million people that don’t care about it, marketers should become a part of the conversation of 200 people that can’t wait to get their message.

For this year’s Christmas party, I want to sell sponsorships to local companies in the following areas – food, hair, clothing, alcohol, and any other areas where there is a good fit. For hair and clothing, they can choose to outfit a few select guests.

Here’s the pitch to these companies or their agencies. This is the opposite of mass marketing. This is a way to be involved in an intimate setting where people are discussing everything that is going on. Think about what happens when a woman walks into a party with a beautiful dress and awesome hair. Every other woman asks her where she got the dress and who did her hair. Then, they immediately want to go there. Well now your company can actually be a part of that conversation, without intrusive, obnoxious old-school advertising.

Companies will get a link on the landing page and the invitation. They will also have the ability to create any type of hand out at the event. This could even be gift bags similar to those given out at Sundance.

So, is this idea worth pursuing? Do you know any companies that may be interested in something like this? They will get access to approximately 200 people in the coveted 21-34 demo who live in and around Baltimore. What do you think I need to do to convince companies that this is a great idea and worth a test?

Last night was the annual Best of Baltimore party hosted by everyone’s favorite free alternative weekly, The City Paper. And what a party it was. Held at the Museum of Industry on Key Highway, this year’s event had many things working in its favor. The venue was great, food was excellent, beers were free, and there were lots of people enjoying themselves on a beautiful Baltimore night.

As is typical with most large party-type events, I spent the majority of the evening hanging with my good friends. Mingling really can’t begin until everyone has had a cocktail or two anyway. I also had a chance to talk to some of the good people that work at the City Paper and, for some reason, continue to invite us back to their events.

Also, the view from the outdoor patio at the Museum of Industry is one of the nicest in the city. Hopefully I’ll have some pictures to post soon. It looked like some of the shots they show when the Ravens are on Monday Night Football. One of those views that reminds you why you love this city so much.

After the party, half of our crew decided to hit up an after-party at Idle Hour off of Fort Ave. It was a pretty cool little place that I hadn’t been to before. Although I’m not usually one to stay out super late on work nights (I know, that sounds really lame), this one was definitely worth it.

I am a bit upset that I didn’t win the Best Dude in Baltimore title, but I still had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Today marks the beginning of DC’s Advertising Week. While it’s not as large or as flashy as New York’s, DC Ad Week still seems worth a visit.

Tomorrow, I’ll be heading down to DC, well Northern VA really, to catch day 2 of the event. The topics being discussed tomorrow include, “Digital and Online Marketing’s Latest Trends & Tools”, “The ROI of Going Green”, “That’s So Two Hours Ago: Successful Strategic Planning in an Era of Massive Media Change”, and others. The full schedule can be seen here.

Despite the drive, which I’m guessing may take me up to 2 hours, I’m still looking forward to the day. It’s always good to interact with people in the industry and get their thoughts on the exciting things that are happening now, and what will be happening in the next months and years. It’s so easy to get consumed with what you are working on that you don’t take the time to look at what else is happening. Events like this at least get you out of the office and force you to talk to people.

I’m expecting good things from the day tomorrow. I’ll post my findings later this week.

The beginning of a new season always seems to bring with it the desire for something new. I’ve experienced this feeling nearly every time the seasons change for the past few years. It’s a feeling that is hard to describe, but it’s as if my body, understanding the change that is happening in the atmosphere, is craving an equal change for itself.

Over the past 6 months I’ve experienced some major changes. I moved, started a new job, joined two different community-based volunteer programs, and ran my first triathlon. Despite these new experiences, or maybe partially because of them, I can’t help but feel the strong need for a significant change.

I usually think of the desire for change as being birthed from a negative experience. People look for new jobs because they don’t like the one they have. Or, people move because they don’t like where they live. But I really like where I work and the people I work with, and I live with one of my best friends, and I’ve also really enjoyed the new things I’ve become involved with.

Still, I feel the need for a change. Normally when I feel like this, I just kind of chalk it up to the change of seasons and leave it at that. This time, though, the feeling has lasted longer than usual.

I’ve also recently become a big believer in not forcing things, but in letting them happen as they should. With that said, I guess the only thing I can do is be open to new experiences and enjoy the new things that I’m already doing, as well as the people that are in my life.

Anyone else ever get this feeling?

To most of us, Labor Day signifies the end of summer. What better way is there is close out the summer than to gather 20+ of your closest friends for a day at the horse races?

Yesterday, a group of us hopped on the Light Rail with coolers in tow and headed up to Timonium Fair Grounds. Horses raced every 30 minutes from 1 pm until 5. I bet on almost every race but didn’t win a single one. I did, however, manage to only lose $20. Two of my friends won $70 each on one race, and a bunch of others won a few bucks here and there.

This was my first time actually watching and betting on horse races. It was an absolute blast. It’s just so much fun to hang out with your friends, cheer on horses and gamble. Check out Mike’s blog for some excellent pictures of the day. After the track, we all journeyed back to my house for a good old fashioned Labor Day cookout. The burgers and dogs were tasty and the potato and pasta salads were even better. I managed to go to bed by 9 and after 10 1/2 hours of sleep, felt like a champ when I woke up this morning.

If this is the end of summer, then it was a great way to see it off.

Here are some pictures – thanks to Mike, Kate and Sharon.

In other news, tonight is the annual draft for the Beltway Fantasy Football (BFF) league. This league gets better and better every year. We now have a salary cap keeper league, so the draft doesn’t hold quite as much weight as it used to, but there is still the chance to pick up some good free agents and rookies. Good luck to all the teams this year. Watch out for Chris’ Squeakers.