Friday Random 10 #1

Stolen with utmost respect from any number of superior blogs, here's my first Friday Random 10 and self-audit.
1. Mission of Burma - "Academy Fight Song" (1980 Single) - What a way to start off! I was obsessed with this song for a long time; still am, really. It's a fantastic piece of poppy post-punk, arguably the most accessible Burma song, and it's the sort of song that sticks in my head forever and I want to listen to again and again. And again. 10/10.
2. Darkwood Dub - "Prostor Između Nas" (O Danima, 2005, B92) - Ah, Serbian psychedelic dub. In all seriousness, I rather enjoy this band's weirdness, and their unique sound is very relaxing while still energetic. Plus it's amazing music for getting stoned to. This is probably the best song on their new album, which is generally a little toned-down and too fascinated with repetition. 8/10.
3. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - "First to Finish, Last to Start" (Hearts of Oak, Lookout!, 2003) - I love Ted Leo's brand of upbeat, happy indie/punky rock, especially in the summer, but this song is weak. It lacks energy or expression, and the melody doesn't really go anywhere. 5/10.
4. Gang of Four - "Damaged Goods" (Return the Gift, V2, 2005) - Possibly the best song the post-punk innovators ever wrote, full of clever lines and with a bassline to die for. But this is the rerecorded version from their recent reunion, which just doesn't quite have the visceral power of the original. The drums gain a lot of force, but the guitar seems almost self-indulgent, and the whole thing lacks the clculated minimalism that mde the original so well-crafted. Still a fantastic song, it only pales in comparison to the 1979 version. 7/10 (original would be a 10)
5. Grateful Dead - "Operator" (American Beauty, 1970, Warner) - Yeah, I have a bit of a hippy-dippy streak, it's my upbringing. The Dead have a special place in the mythos of contemporary music, and I have mixed feelings about them. They're a bit too cult-ified for my taste, really. Still, they're of classical importance, and this song is pretty decent. 5/10.
6. The Ramones - "Mama's Boy" (Too Tough To Die, 1985, Sire) - Th Ramones. Enough has been said about them. They're amazing and incredibly important. This is a really late song, though, and a bit too close to hard rock and far from their simplified roots for me - Joey's attempt at sounding tough is just a bit much. It's still a good song, and the lyrics are great in their moronically confrontational way. 6/10.
7. Black Flag - "Clocked In" (Everything Went Black, 1983) - Black Flag are legendary enough in hardcore crcles, and deserve it. This isn't them at their best though - it's an outtake, and it shows. Basically, this is an early version of "Clocked In", a song which I never particularly liked at its best, with Keith Morris (my second-favourite BF singer, after the obvious Rollins) singing like he never tried the song before. It sounds awful, honestly. 4/10.
8. The Velvet Underground - "Sweet Jane"(Loaded, 1970, Warner) - Hey, another over-mythologized band! They deserve it, though - they basically shaped all underground rock-ish music that's come since. This is perhaps their best song, with a classic riff and brilliant lyrics presented so perfectly in Lou Reed's idiosyncratic speak-sing. 10/10.
9. Desmond Dekker - "Tips of My Fingers" (Shanty Town Original, 1994, Drive Archive) - RIP. Dekker has perhaps the most beautiful voice Jamaica ever produced, and used it incredibly well. His dying just a week ago colours my rating a bit, I'll admit, but this isn't on of is better songs. It's simply soppy, and the backup vocals suck. Dekker's vocals alone make it a 5/10, though.
10. Wire - "Pink Flag" (Pink Flag, 1977, Harvest) - More post-punk perfection. Pink Flag is one of my favourite albums ever, because it took punk to its extreme - where punk cut down on everything unnecessary in rock and roll, cutting back on the excesses of the dinosaurs of their their time, Wire minimized punk - few songs in Pink Flag go over two minutes, many have only a single chord, and all of them sound amazing in their simple glory. This is the longest song on the album, and it's rather dynamic while including only the most minimal of guitar and drums. The tempo goes crazy over the course of the song, and it has one of the only extravagant moments on the album (the additional drum roll closer), but it's rather iconic nonetheless. 9/10.
Overall: 6.9 average. Pretty high, mainly due to the presence of three absolutely brilliant songs. I may have to work on controlling my high ratings in the future.