The Buffalo Game

Greta Christina

buffalo
I’m going to be at Skepticon for the next few days, and I know from experience that I pretty much never blog during a conference. So let’s play a game! Let’s play the Buffalo Game.

The Buffalo Game is simple: You replace one (or sometimes more than one) word or name in a band name with the word “Buffalo,” to comic effect.

The genesis of the Buffalo game: We were at a concert at the Fillmore, which is plastered with classic poster art from old Fillmore shows. Someone noticed posters for Buffalo Springfield and Buffalo Tom, and asked, “Why do so many band names have the word ‘Buffalo’ in them?” When pressed to give more examples, they (I don’t remember who) said, “You know… um… the Rolling Buffaloes.” And it went from there.

Some of my favorites, to get the ball rolling: Sonic Buffalo. Public Buffalo. 10,000 Buffaloes. The Backstreet Buffaloes. Daft Buffalo. Rage Against the Buffalo. Buffalo (Not Buffalo). Buffalo Wuffalo Wuffalo. In some cases, you have to decide which word to replace. Is it Death Buffalo for Cutie, or Death Cab for Buffalo?

More?

(This has nothing to do with the topic of the post, but I’m going to keep mentioning it in every post I write for a little while: The news from the Philippines in the wake of Haiyan is getting worse and worse. The death toll is rising, and thousands are without shelter, food and medicine. The Foundation Beyond Belief’s Crisis Response is supporting the relief and recovery efforts of Citizens’ Disaster Response Center. Please help if you can. Even small amounts add up.)

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The Buffalo Game

About the author

Greta Christina has been writing professionally since 1989, on topics including atheism, sexuality and sex-positivity, LGBT issues, politics, culture, and whatever crosses her mind. She is author of The Way of the Heathen: Practicing Atheism in Everyday Life, of Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God, of Coming Out Atheist: How to Do It, How to Help Each Other, and Why, of Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless, and of Bending: Dirty Kinky Stories About Pain, Power, Religion, Unicorns, & More, and is editor of Paying For It: A Guide by Sex Workers for Their Clients. She has been a public speaker for many years, and many of her talks can be seen on YouTube. Her writing has appeared in multiple magazines and newspapers, including Ms., Penthouse, Chicago Sun-Times, On Our Backs, and Skeptical Inquirer, and numerous anthologies, including Everything You Know About God Is Wrong and three volumes of Best American Erotica. (Any views she expresses in this blog are solely hers, and do not necessarily represent this organizations.) She lives in San Francisco with her wife, Ingrid. You can email her at gretachristina (at) gmail (dot) com, or follow her on Facebook.
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43 thoughts on “The Buffalo Game”

  3. lpetrich
    3

    Simple Buffaloes
    The Buffalo Twins
    Buffalo Buffalo
    The Rolling Buffaloes
    The Buffalo Sisters Band
    John Cafferty and the Buffalo Brown Band
    Bruce Springsteen and the Buffalo Street Band
    Diana Ross and the Buffaloes
    Buffalo Maneuvers in the Dark
    Buffalo Mode
    The Buffalo Shop Boys
    Skinny Buffalo
    The New Buffaloes on the Block

    If that game gets old, here’s another one: alternative album names. These ones are inspired by U2’s “The Joshua Tree”:
    Like a Joshua Tree
    The Joshua Tree: It’s So Unusual
    Are You Joshua Treed?
    Back in the Joshua Tree
    Q: Are We Not U2? A: We Are The Joshua Tree!
    Bad Joshua Tree Rising

  6. triple3a
    6

    1980s/1990s version:

    1. Prince and the Buffalo
    2. Twisted Buffalo
    3. Motley Buffalo
    4. Bon Buffalo
    5. Guns N’ Buffaloes
    6. REO Speedbuffalo
    7. Aerobuffalo
    8. Megabuffalo
    9. Violent Buffaloes
    10. Tom Petty and the Buffaloes
    11. Kool & the Buffaloes
    12. Beastie Buffaloes
    13. Buffaloes With Attitude (BWA)
    14. Public Buffalo
    15. Boogie Down Buffaloes
    16. Big Daddy Buffalo
    17. A Flock of Buffaloes
    18. Dire Buffaloes
    19. Culture Buffalo
    20. Buffalo Goes to Hollywood
    21. Thompson Buffaloes
    22. The Human Buffalo
    23. Crowded Buffalo
    24. Africa Bambuffalo
    25. The Jungle Buffaloes
    26. A Buffalo Called Quest
    27. Snoop Buffalo
    28. Dexys Midnight Buffaloes
    29. Digital Buffalo
    30. Buffalo!

  7. Trebuchet
    7

    Bison Bison Bison?
    We don’t have buffaloes in Europe…

    We don’t have them in the USA, either.

    How about non-musical groups?
    Monty Bison’s Flying Circus.

  9. freemage
    9

    Buffaloica?
    Damn Buffaloes
    Buffalo Jovi
    Buffaloryche
    Def Buffalo (Really, this one should be Def Bufalo, to keep with the way the name was writ)
    Faster Buffalo
    Quiet Buffalo
    Twisted Buffalo
    Ozzy Buffalo
    AC/DB
    Van Buffalo
    Judas Buffalo (alt: Buffalo Priest)

    I listened to way too many hair bands….

  14. moarscienceplz
    14

    The Buffaloes (formerly the Silver Buffaloes)
    The Buffaloes – featuring Pete Townsend and Roger Daltry
    The Buffaloes – featuring Eric Clapton
    Buffalo – featuring Eric Clapton
    Buffalo – featuring Freddie Mercury
    Buffalo – featuring Geddy Lee

    Am I doing this right?

  15. Scr… Archivist
    15

    They Might Be Buffaloes
    Buffalo Airplane
    Bisonwerk
    ‘Falo Kuti
    Buffalolab
    Nine Inch Buffaloes
    Buffalo Milk Hotel
    Elvis Buffalo
    The Pains of Being Buffalo at Heart
    Buffalo Sainte-Marie
    The Magnetic Buffaloes
    Allo Buffalo’
    Donna the… hey, wait a minute!

    “Buffalo” is clearly one of those words that quickly loses its meaning when repeated.

  16. misgolas
    16

    This is completely off topic, but I just had to tell you I absolutely adored the photo of you and Ingrid in the new coffee table book, A Better Life: 100 Atheists Speak Out etc (just saw it on PZs blog). It was a beautiful and joyful photo!

    Oh and Buffalo!

  18. lpetrich
    18

    Some alternate ones for triple3a #6:

    Buffalo and the Revolution
    Buffalo Crue
    Buffalo and the Gang
    Buffalo Club
    Frankie Goes to Buffalo
    The Buffalo Twins
    The Buffalo League

    Some more:

    Archie Buff and the Buffaloes
    The Buffalo People
    The Village Buffaloes
    Josie and the Buffaloes
    Buffaloes at Work
    Living in a Buffalo

  20. Gregory in Seattle
    20

    @Trebuchet #12 – I would have gone with “En Tequila es Buffalo” but then, I had a rather wild youth. Then I would add “Million Buffalo”, “Gruntled and Buffaloed” and “Buffalo In Theory.”

    But back to the topic at hand. My tastes run towards folk, bluegrass, rockabilly and jazz, so….

    Bela Buffalo and the Buffalotones
    Buffalo Corea
    Buffalo Creek
    The Blues Buffalos
    The Buffalo Brothers
    The Stray Buffalos
    Buffalo Na Na
    Gypsy Buffalos

  22. Robert B.
    22

    Buffalo and Sons
    Goo Goo Buffalos
    Simon and Buffalo
    Counting Buffalos
    Imagine Buffalos
    Of Buffalos and Men
    October Buffalo
    Dar Buffalo

    and my personal favorite, Rise Buffalo.

  25. Ubi Dubium
    25

    I must say I’m partial to Talking Buffaloes.

    Although I really like a capella, so there’s Rockabuffalo or Da Vinci’s Buffalos (Or their successor Buffalo and Storm.)

    Also
    Straight, No Buffalo.
    Or from Iceland, Bjürfallo
    And how about Four Non-Buffaloes.

  26. 4ozofreason
    26

    The Black Buffaloes
    Insane Buffalo Posse (“Magnets- how do they work?” “I don’t know, I’m just a buffalo.”)
    Devil Makes Buffalo
    And my personal favorite, Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Buffalo

  29. DonDueed
    29

    Steppenbuffalo

    Buffalo, Stills, Nash, and Buffalo (hasn’t got much buffalo in it)

    Led Buffalo (with their monster hit, Stairway to Prairie)

    The Grateful Buffalo

  31. godlesspanther
    31

    There was also a little-known band called, 60,000,000 Buffalo.

    I have a knack for finding obscure music that is really good. Most obscure music is obscure because nobody wants to listen to it. Every once in a while I find a jewel that has been overlooked. 60,000,000 Buffalo is one of those jewels.

    ———————

    Blue Buffalo Cult
    Creedence Buffalo Revival
    Humble Buffalo
    Green Buffalo
    Moby Buffalo
    Jefferson Buffalo
    Simon and Buffalo
    The Flying Buffalo Brothers

  33. jh42
    33

    Somehow (probably owing to the Gin & Bitter Lemon I’ve been drinking this evening), I read “bands” as “brands,” and started casting around my desk for brand names/slogans that I applied this to.

    Here were a few:

    Windex – streak-free buffalo
    Dust-off Professional – The original compressed gas buffalo

    and

    Altoids – curiously strong buffalos – Cinnamon

    Yeah, I shouldn’t be left with the gin bottle, it seems……

  36. jagwired
    36

    Here’s my eclectic list:

    Echo and the Buffalomen
    Buffalo 242
    The Airborne Buffalo Event
    The Buffalo Method
    Buffalo or Alive
    Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Buffaloes
    Explosions in the Buffalo
    Foster the Buffalo
    Hot Hot Buffalo
    Buffalo’s Addiction
    Buffalo and Rockets
    Modest Buffalo
    Buffalo Jam
    Peter, Bjorn and Buffalo
    Porno for Buffaloes
    Buffalo. The Man
    The Psychedelic Buffaloes
    Buffalohead

    okay… I need to stop myself before somebody gets hurt.

  38. Ben Wright
    38

    Our local equivalent is the ‘pants’ game.

    ‘Death Pants for Cutie’
    ‘Pants N Roses’
    ‘Pantswind’
    ‘…and You Shall Know Us By The Trail of Pants’

    It also works with film quotes.

    ‘If you strike me down, I shall become more pants than you can possibly imagine’

    (Pants is more flexible than buffalo, because pants can also be an adjective in British English. Of course, British English ‘pants’ is 400% funnier than American English ‘pants’ to start with.)

    We also have the ‘in my pants’ game – just suffix a song name, band name or film title with ‘in my pants’.

    10,00 Maniacs in my Pants
    Dead or Alive in my Pants
    Somebody To Love in my Pants
    Don’t Fear the Reaper in my Pants
    Jaws in my Pants
    Tangled in my Pants

  40. ismenia
    40

    Ben, I was once told off by my boss for teaching her husband the Star Wars pants game. She said he’d be doing it all the way home.

    “Governor Tarkin, I should have known it would be you holding Vader’s pants. I recognised your foul pants the minute I came on board.”

  41. leftwingfox
    41

    Yoda: “Look at me. Judge me by my pants, do you? Hmm? And well you should not.”

    Solo: “Yaaahoo! You’re all clear kid! Now let’s blow these pants and go home!”

    And the winner:

    Greedo: “Jabba has no need for smugglers who drop their pants at the first sign of an Imperial cruiser.”

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