At some point this evening, I realized that the Magnetic Fields had replaced the Pet Shop Boys as the predominant objective correlative of my inner life. Different sound; still gay.

I've often wondered why my favorite musical artists have always been vaguely or obviously queer. My usual explanation is that gay artists, for various reasons, have been compelled to be ironic, coded, or reserved about their strongest emotions, and I find that sort of reticence aesthetically more interesting than the unguarded feelings of most pop music.

In a way, this may also explain why my favorite musical discovery of the last six months is an album by William Shatner.

Has Been is brilliant. Everyone who has access to the iTunes store (which is perfect for this sort of shame purchase) should spend $9.99 on it. If you aren't grinning madly halfway through the first track (a beautifully produced cover of Pulp's "Common People"), I'll gladly refund the price. It isn't gay or ironic, exactly; it's just very, very strange, funny, moving, and compelling. Shatner is becoming a weird sort of role model for me. After all, the guy's a survivor, and Has Been is dizzyingly full of hard-earned wisdom and humor. Once you start listening, it's hard to stop. (My favorite line: "By the time you hear this, I may well be dead / And you, my friend, may be next." But it's hard to choose.)

On the other hand, between Has Been, Paul Anka's Rock Swings, the soundtrack to Beyond the Sea, and lots of ironic country by the Magnetic Fields ("Country music by people who should know better," as I once called it), my iPod is all irony, all the time. Maybe it's time for some heavy, pretentious progressive rock instead. The Wall, anyone?