Pitchfork

Recording a song with the Killers isn't Lou Reed's only strange move lately. The avant-rock godhead has also put down a couple of new songs inspired by forthcoming World War II documentary Nanking, about the Japanese military's brutal invasion of Nanking, China. One of them, "Gravity", puts spoken-sung vocals about "Gravity, oh gravity" over a single repetitive guitar chord, while "Safety Zone", the more melodic of the two tracks, also undercuts itself with literal lyrics. "I thought I'd make a bridge, keep some civility over here," Reed sings, over unaccompanied electric guitars recalling a kinder, gentler "Beginning to See the Light". Soon, he adds, "The Japanese in this war have brought us to our collective knees." So it's a history lesson, and admittedly, atrocities like "rape at the end of a bayonet" are a part of history worth remembering (if only so society doesn't repeat them). But maybe this song sounds better after you've seen the movie.

MP3:> Lou Reed: "Safety Zone"
[Nanking will be released 12/12/07 in New York City at the Film Forum, followed by a national release in January 2008]