When last we discussed the search for a title the leading contender was A Simpler Road. Comments from various friends nixed that one pretty quickly. Too misleading (this CD isn’t simpler than the last one), too much of an implied criticism of the last CD, some concern about the very thematic connection to the previous CD that had drawn me in. And since I had my own concern (the word “simpler” and its implied comparison), I’m okay with ditching that option. And I got some good feedback that also cast doubts on some of my other candidate titles. And usefully led me to rethink version of them I’d come up with. I’m now playing around with another two options: The Road Reminds You or At Home In This Town. I like The Road Reminds You because it sounds like a cool CD title. It also comes from the song that it likely to be the last one on the CD (a good location, and also a hidden parallel to the last CD). And there are so many things the road could remind you of – including, in the song it comes from, of your way, when you’ve lost it. And it does relate to a few songs: In Chicken we’re stuck by the side of the road; in The Best Art the main character is living on the streets and we meet him at the intersection of two of them, and Tallahassee is about taking to the road to escape. Downsides are that even though the location is right, the song Many Paths that the line comes from is not as important a song (to me) as other songs a title could come from. At Home In This Town is a modification of a previously option I’d considered (Finally at Home, which people pointed out sounded like the last CD of my career, not something I want to be implying!). So I looked at the other parts of that line, and came up with At Home In This Town. I like that it comes from Crawfordsville. And in some ways it fits the meaning of the CD better. It applies, for instance, to Tallahassee, in which I explicitly consider leaving where I am and end up (probably) staying. It sort of fits the broader concept of a few other songs: The Best Art (most closely) Chicken, If I’d Known, and The Friends that I Need. And it really fits my style of songwriting, which the Sing Out! review described as “focusing on the quiet meaning to be found in ordinary life.” My songs are, often, little stories of people in their own places. So that’s all good. My main hesitation is that it doesn’t SOUND like a CD title. When I came up with Crooked Highways for the last CD, I immediately knew that it was a great title (so much so that I was surprised that a search didn’t turn up an existing CD – or even song – with that title). This one sounds generic. It has too many words, and none of them is especially notable – even the phrase itself isn’t especially notable. Related is the cover design issue. Although I don’t know what the cover of a CD called The Road Reminds You would look like, I can imagine some road-based themes that would work. I can’t imagine anything that would stand out visually that would represent At Home In This Town. So I shall mull for awhile longer. Maybe one of these will declare itself the clear winner, or maybe I’ll come up with another idea. As always, suggestions and thoughts welcomed!