Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo

1998 studio album by MxPx

Studio album by

MxPx

Released

June 16, 1998 (1998-06-16)

Recorded

February 1998

Studio

Robert Lang Studios, Seattle, Washington

Genre

Punk rock,^[1] pop punk^[1]

Length

40:29

Label

A&M, Tooth & Nail

Producer

Steve Kravac

MxPx chronology

Life in General
(1996)

Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo
(1998)

Let It Happen
(1998)

Singles from Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo

"I'm OK, You're OK"
Released: May 6, 1998

Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo is the fourth studio album released by American punk rock band MxPx in 1998. The album title was taken from a letter that a fan had written to the band, complaining that the band was changing and was "slowly going the way of the buffalo".

Background

Due to the success of MxPx's "Chick Magnet", from their previous album, Life in General, the band signed a multi-album contract with A&M.^[2] A&M had previously signed a deal with Tooth & Nail to co-market Life in General.^[2] This market deal was "cobbled together in order to sign the band", according to A&M chairman Al Cafaro.^[2]

Composition and recording

Moving away from the sound of Life in General, the band "dirtied things up a little", according to vocalist and bassist Mike Herrera, for Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo.^[2] The band refrained from making the album "sound like it was produced in a lab."^[2] Greg Hetson of Bad Religion has guest vocals on "The Downfall of Western Civilization".^[2]

Release

To generate hype, A&M picked 1,000 of the band's fans and, from April to June 1998, sent them a CD of songs from the album.^[2] Despite the band's sizable fan base, the label was not approaching the album with high expectations.^[2] The vice president of A&M estimated the album would easily achieve 100,000 in sales.^[2] On May 6, "I'm OK, You're OK" was sent to modern rock radio stations.^[2] The band supported Bad Religion on their tour of Europe in May.^[2] Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo was released on June 16 through A&M.^[2] From June 30, for five weeks, the band played on the 1998 edition of Warped Tour.^[2] In August, the band supported Blink-182.^[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
HM Magazine	(favorable)^[3]
The Phantom Tollbooth	^[4]
Rock Hard	6/10^[5]

The album charted at number 99 on the Billboard 200^[6] and at number 2 on the Top Contemporary Christian chart.^[7] It certified gold in January 2000 by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mike Herrera, and arranged by MxPx

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Under Lock and Key"	2:32
2.	"Tomorrow's Another Day"	2:47
3.	"The Final Slowdance"	1:59
4.	"I'm OK, You're OK"	2:39
5.	"Cold and All Alone"	2:07
6.	"Party, My House, Be There"	2:16
7.	"The Downfall of Western Civilization"	2:42
8.	"Invitation to Understanding"	2:33
9.	"Fist vs Tact"	1:11
10.	"What's Mine Is Yours"	3:44
11.	"Self Serving with a Purpose"	2:48
12.	"For Always"	3:12
13.	"Set the Record Straight"	2:57
14.	"Get with It!"	1:44
15.	"Inches from Life"	1:51
16.	"The Theme Fiasco"	3:10
Total length:		40:29

Personnel

MxPx

Mike Herrera — vocals, bass
Tom Wisniewski — guitars, backing vocals
Yuri Ruley — drums

Additional musicians

Ronnie King — keyboard
Greg Hetson — lead guitar on "The Downfall of the Western Civilization"
Dale Yob — vocals on "I'm Ok, You're OK"
Jeff Bettger — screams on "Fist vs. Tact" and "The Theme Fiasco"

Production

Steve Kravac — producer, mixing
Aaron Warner — production assistant
Al Lay — mixing assistant
Brian "Big Bass" Gardner — mastering

Artwork

Marina Chavez — photography
Mitch Tobias — photography
John Nissen — illustrations
Luke W. Midkiff — illustrations/ video direction

Chart positions

Album

Chart (1998)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200^[6]	99
U.S. Billboard Top Contemporary Christian^[7]	2

Certifications

Country	Certification	Sales
United States	Gold^[8]	500,000+

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo - MxPx - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Reece 1998, p. 18
^ McGovern 1998
^ "MxPx review by The Phantom Tollbooth e'zine". tollbooth.org. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
^ Jaedike, Jan (August 2000). "MxPx Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo". Rock Hard (in German). Retrieved September 3, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "MxPx - Chart history (Billboard 200)". billboard.com. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Top Contemporary Christian" 1998, p. 37
^ ^a ^b "RIAA Database Search Results". Recording Industry Association of America.

Bibliography

McGovern, Brian Vincent (September–October 1998). "Album Reviews: MxPx Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo". HM (73). ISSN 1066-6923.
Reece, Doug (May 23, 1998). "A&M Rounds Up Existing Fan Base For MxPx's 'Buffalo' Set". Billboard. 110 (21). Nielsen Business Media, Inc. ISSN 0006-2510.
"Top Contemporary Christian". Billboard. 110 (27). Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 4, 1998. ISSN 0006-2510.