Yesterday was the first time I heard these songs. (Well, the first time I heard Beck sing “Old Man.”) Surprisingly, two of these selections sound more like folk than rock songs to me.

“So Happy It Hurts,” Bryan Adams:

I love this song. It’s a cover of the hit by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young from 1974, the year I graduated with my BA (and the year that Greg and I married). Beck has kept his performance very true to the original. However, I’d rather see him be nominated for an original song. “Old Man,” Beck:

I find the “official” video of the next song to be very inappropriate, and also very distracting from the music, so I’m posting this live performance from the Jimmy Kimmel show. “Wild Child,” The Black Keys:

The official video for the next song is just a static image; you don’t get to see Brandi performing with her band. Instead, I’m posting this live performance from Austin City Limits. “Broken Horses,” Brandi Carlile:

The official video for the next song is a stop-action animation (distracting), so here is a live performance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert (also, the lyrics are less raunchy). “Crawl!” by Idles:

The official video for this song has comic book-like animation. Instead, I’m showing the performance from the Rams season opener, which also includes “Crazy Train.” The version that is up for the Grammy features guitarist Jeff Beck, not present in this video. I found the lyrics depressing, not surprising from the Prince of Darkness. “Patient Number 9,” by Ozzy Osbourne:

“Holiday,” by Turnstile:

Granted, it’s not fair for me to show you unofficial videos, since I suppose the performances on the albums (and ostensibly on the “official” videos) are actually the ones that were nominated. I just found that I really disliked some of the videos. It would be better to listen to the official ones with your eyes closed so that you could just concentrate on the music.

That said, some of the songs did not move me at all. Those would be the ones I did not comment on. Of the rest, the song I really like the best is Brandi Carlile’s “Broken Horses,” which is one of the ones I consider folksy (the other is “Old Man”). I hope she wins the Grammy.

Now it’s your turn. Which song do you think should win the Grammy for Best Rock Performance, and why? What do you think about the other songs? Share in the comments below.