The album's title came from the band's tour manager of the time, who would often spend afternoons rummaging thrift stores and purchasing strange memorabilia; on one occasion, he purchased a bowling pin with red and white stripes, remarking to the band he rather liked "the colour and the shape" of the object. The group found the phrase arbitrary and hilarious and decided to use it as the title, rather than trying to choose a title based on the music's themes or moods. They chose the British spelling of ""colour"" with a "U" as a tribute to Norton, who is British. A title track was written and recorded for "The Colour and the Shape" during the Bear Creek sessions, but like most of the other songs attempted there, it did not reach the album's final track list. Noted as "rawer, noisier and thrashier" than the rest of the songs on the album by "Louder Sound"s Paul Brannigan, it later became a b-side to the album's eventual lead single, "Monkey Wrench". After settling on a track sequence, Grohl was struck by the impression that the album's flow from start to finish resembled a therapy session, moving from fear and anxiety at the start to self-assurance and resolve by the end. He even considered placing a therapist's couch on the album cover.