Started in 1976 as the Brick Alley Band by Grushecky, a high school special… Read Full Bio ↴Started in 1976 as the Brick Alley Band by Grushecky, a high school special education teacher in Pittsburgh, the band was a fairly typical bar band. The band was distinguished by Grushecky's taut, focused songs about life in the open hearth and a distinctive, harmonica-and-guitar driven sound owing much to the Rolling Stones and the J. Geils Band, but which also seemed to borrow a lot of the thrashing fury of punk rock. Most of the members of the Iron City Houserockers came from a genuine blue collar background: Art Nardini was the son of a mechanic and a part time college student, Joe Grushecky was a coal miner's son, and Gil Snyder's father was a construction worker.[1] In 1977 they signed to Cleveland International Records, headed by former Epic Records A&R chief and Pittsburgh native Steve Popovich. Popovich christened them the Iron City Houserockers, but this caused some problems when touring outside their native Pittsburgh—when they played Cleveland their tires were slashed.[1] The band's debut album Love's So Tough was released in April 1979. With dense, no-frills production by Popovich and Marty Mooney, AKA the Slimmer Twins, the album successfully captured the band's live sound. "Hideaway" (the first single) and "Dance With Me" were viewed as standout cuts.

The band's follow-up album Have a Good Time but Get out Alive! was featured by Rolling Stone magazine as its showcase review with the headline "New American Classic" and The Village Voice called it "the strongest album an American band has made this year."[1] The tandem tavern-set tracks "Old Man Bar" and "Junior's Bar" were especially praised. Production was credited to the Slimmer Twins and Mick Ronson, with arrangements by Ian Hunter and Steven Van Zandt. According to the liner notes within Pumping Iron & Sweating Steel: The Best of the Iron City Houserockers, Van Zandt left after producing five songs due to musical differences between himself, Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson.[1]

The Houserockers' third album, Blood on the Bricks, is a bit more restrained, but a lot richer and more consistent; for the first time, Grushecky's ballads measure up to his faster anthems. Produced by American soul-rock legend Steve Cropper, the album crackles with restrained intensity. The 1983 edition Rolling Stone Record Guide praised it as the band's best album, although it had good marks for all of them.

The band then changed its name to simply The Houserockers to avoid the geographic limitation the "Iron City" moniker had put them in. It also shed harmonica player Marc Reisman, Ned Rankin quit and was replaced by Ron "Byrd" Foster (from the recently disbanded Silencers, previously with Sweet Lightning and Roy Buchanan's band) and saw Gil Snyder adding synthesizers to his trademark piano and organ. The subsequent album, Cracking Under Pressure, like all the band's previous efforts, drew critical raves - but didn't sell much. The band was dropped from MCA Records shortly after the album's release, and broke up a few months later.

Joe Grushecky went on to a modestly successful career on his own, often under the name Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers. He has co-written several songs with fellow heartland rocker Bruce Springsteen and made a number of on-stage appearances with him.

The Iron City Houserocker's first two albums, Love's So Tough and Have a Good Time but Get Out Alive! were released on compact disc in 1999. Blood on the Bricks and Cracking Under Pressure are still unreleased on CD, although cuts from both albums are present on Pumping Iron & Sweating Steel: The Best of the Iron City Houserockers.

Hypnotized
Iron City Houserockers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

SITTING IN MY ROOM STARING AT TV
FARRAH HAIR AND ULTRA SMILES ON A 12-INCH SCREEN
I NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE I SIT HERE MESMERIZED
THE AMERICAN DREAM HAS ME PARALYZED

I'VE BEEN HYPNOTIZED CONDITIONED TO BUY
I'VE BEEN CONVINCED BY ALL THE HYPE
IN LIVING COLOR OR BLACK OR WHITE

DON'T YOU KNOW I'VE BEEN HYPNOTIZED

IT'S SO EASY SITTING HERE AT HOME
BUYING ALL THE PRODUCTS WHILE I WATCH TWILIGHT ZONE
I WANT TWO OF EVERYTHING I SEE
A BRAND NEW VEGOMATIC WITH COMPLETE ACCESSORIES

I'VE BEEN HYPNOTIZED CONDITIONED TO BUY
I'VE BEEN CONVINCED BY ALL THE HYPE
IN LIVING COLOR OR BLACK OR WHITE
DON'T YOU KNOW I'VE BEEN HYPNOTIZED

I'VE BEEN HYPNOTIZED DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO
I'VE BEEN HYPNOTIZED CAPTURED BY THE TUBE
I'VE BEEN HYPNOTIZED IT'S SAD BUT IT'S TRUE
CAUSE I'VE BEEN HYPNOTIZED

HYPNOTIZED I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO
HYPNOTIZED NOTHING'S COMING THROUGH

HYPNOTIZED I CAN'T SEE YOU
HYPNOTIZED AND IT'S TOO LATE

Overall Meaning

Iron City Houserockers's song "Hypnotized" is a commentary on the power of television in shaping consumer behavior. The singer of the song is portrayed as a couch potato who never leaves the house and is consumed by the images and messages that come through the television screen. The constant stream of advertisements for products and services has convinced the singer that the "American Dream" of endless consumption is the key to happiness and fulfillment.

The chorus of the song repeats the refrain "I've been hypnotized, conditioned to buy, I've been convinced by all the hype." This repetition of the phrase emphasizes the power that advertising has to shape our desires and behaviors. The singer is captured by the tube, unable to think for themselves, and blindly following the messages of the advertisers.

The lyrics of the song offer a powerful critique of American consumer culture, and a warning about the dangers of allowing our desires and behaviors to be shaped by external messages. Iron City Houserockers invites us to wake up from our hypnotic state, to see the world for what it is, and to take control of our own lives and desires.

Line by Line Meaning

SITTING IN MY ROOM STARING AT TV
I am in my room, sitting and focusing on the television.

FARRAH HAIR AND ULTRA SMILES ON A 12-INCH SCREEN
I see women on the TV with big hair and exaggerated, happy expressions.

I NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE I SIT HERE MESMERIZED
I have become so captivated by the TV that I never leave my house.

THE AMERICAN DREAM HAS ME PARALYZED
The idea of the American Dream has caused me to become immobilized.

I'VE BEEN HYPNOTIZED CONDITIONED TO BUY
I have been mentally affected and persuaded to purchase products and buy into certain ideas.

I'VE BEEN CONVINCED BY ALL THE HYPE
I have been persuaded by all the exaggerated and sensationalized information presented to me.

IN LIVING COLOR OR BLACK OR WHITE
The TV presents information in a variety of ways, both in color and black and white.

DON'T YOU KNOW I'VE BEEN HYPNOTIZED
I am trying to convey to others that I have become entranced and influenced by the TV's messaging.

IT'S SO EASY SITTING HERE AT HOME
It has become too easy for me to sit at home and be influenced by the TV.

BUYING ALL THE PRODUCTS WHILE I WATCH TWILIGHT ZONE
I am purchasing products without much thought while watching TV shows.

I WANT TWO OF EVERYTHING I SEE
The TV has made me want to possess everything I see, no matter how unnecessary it may be.

A BRAND NEW VEGOMATIC WITH COMPLETE ACCESSORIES
I specifically desire a new vegetable slicing gadget with all of the extra parts and accoutrements.

I'VE BEEN HYPNOTIZED DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO
I feel powerless and unsure of what to do now that I have realized I have been influenced and controlled by the TV.

I'VE BEEN HYPNOTIZED CAPTURED BY THE TUBE
The TV has captured my attention and influenced me more than I ever realized.

I'VE BEEN HYPNOTIZED IT'S SAD BUT IT'S TRUE
It is disheartening, but it is true that I have been hypnotized by the TV.

CAUSE I'VE BEEN HYPNOTIZED
I say again that I have been influenced and controlled by the TV.

HYPNOTIZED I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO
I am repeating that I feel powerless and unsure of what to do now that I have realized how much the TV has influenced me.

HYPNOTIZED NOTHING'S COMING THROUGH
I feel like I am not able to process anything anymore because the TV has been so dominant in my life.

HYPNOTIZED I CAN'T SEE YOU
I am so wrapped up in the TV's messaging that I cannot see anything or anyone, including the person I am speaking to.

HYPNOTIZED AND IT'S TOO LATE
I conclude that it is too late for me to break free from the TV's influence and control over my life.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Gil Snyder, Joseph Grushecky

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS