Lust List 2011: E.J., 26

Ya know how James Franco got even hotter when you discovered that, underneath the great hair and chiseled features, lay an intellectual? One that’s just as comfortable discussing humanism as he is suggesting Afrobeat records? Same thing with E.J. “He’s not the one to be the center of the party,” his nominator observed. “You will usually see him quietly observing from the sidelines with his green puff jacket and scarf casually thrown over his shoulder.” When he’s not ringing up sales at the Urban Outfitters on Ponce de Leon Avenue, the self-described “book nerd” enjoys reading Proust, Miller and Melville.

Relationship status: Taken, sort of

What’s your standard drink?

Jack and Coke, definitely. I saw the Lemmy documentary — you know Lemmy from Motorhead — that’s all he drinks, so I felt in good company with that. If the weather’s nice, I’ll drink gin and tonics, too. But Jack and Coke for sure.

What band were you obsessed with when you were 14?

It was the mid-’90s, so something horrible like ... Korn? Limp Bizkit? Some horrible nu-metal band.

What’s your guiltiest pleasure?

I’m a sucker for reality TV. I don’t even own a TV, but when I’m around a TV, I kind of hone in on the worst of those type shows. For whatever reason, I like “Real Housewives.” The Atlanta version!

What’s your least favorite household chore?

Cleaning dishes.

On which reality TV show should you be cast?

I bet everybody says “The Real World,” but that’s the only one I could think of. It’d be pretty cool to be on “Deadliest Catch.” Or “Storage Wars.”

What’s the last thing that made you cry?

I hadn’t talked to my grandma in a while and I called her this past Thanksgiving. I actually teared up. It was like a homesickness of sorts. She lives in San Mateo, Calif., where I was born, in the same house she’s lived in for 40-something years.

What’s the last good book you read?

The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. Besides the fact it’s about a twentysomething who comes of age, it’s about a guy who goes to a sanatorium, enters into a world of ideas and opens himself up to different philosophies.

What do you wish someone would hurry up and invent?

Something that mimics the feeling of someone scratching your back.

What’s the lamest pick-up line anyone’s used on you?

Maybe it’s because I used it way in the past: “I think we have a class together?” Uh, no, I haven’t been in school for two-and-a-half years.

Where do you take out-of-town visitors?

Piedmont Park or Freedom Park if the weather’s nice. It’s kind of touristy, but you have to go to Little Five.

What’s the first album you bought with your own money?

I think it was the Beatles’ Rubber Soul on CD. I remember my uncle saying, “You’ve got to listen to this.”

What’s the best way for a customer to hit on you?

The way it usually happens is at the fitting room. They ask you if something they tried on looks good on them.

Who would play you in the movie of your life?

I’d like James Franco. Or maybe someone like Joseph Gordon-Levitt or the nerdy Jason Schwartzman.

If you were a groupie, who would be the object of your obsession?

Does Tom Waits count? He’s the only person I’d follow around.

What’s the one thing you most hope to accomplish in 2011?

Just DJ out more. I want to DJ at MJQ, Sound Table. Just DJ out in general.

What’s your least favorite thing about Atlanta?

I don’t know if this is unique to Atlanta, but it seems like it’s kind of hard to get stuff off the ground. If you don’t know the right people — it’s probably just a smaller group of people that are in the know, but if you don’t know them, it’s really hard to get stuff going creatively in my experience.

Is there a drawback to being attractive?

Is there any way to answer this and not sound like a total ass? People think you’re an asshole if you’re not super nice immediately. They just kind of catch me in the mood where there’s other stuff going on and they think, “Ugh, he thinks he’s special.” But there’s other stuff going on.

What’s the weirdest thing in your house?

This large fake automatic gun that one of our friends found during Dragon*Con last year. It looks like a full automatic rifle; it’s got the scope and a laser pointer like something from Halo. If you saw us walking around the house with it, you’d think we’re some kind of gun nut.

Name one thing you’ve stolen.

I’ve never stolen much. I used to steal the centerfold band pictures out of magazines when I was a little kid so I could put them on my wall. It was a cheap way of postering my walls. That’s not very ballsy.

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Who’s the most important person in your life?

My mom, for sure. Easy one. Doesn’t make me a mama’s boy, but ...

What’s your sexy-time soundtrack?

Something like Slowdive or shoegaze-y stuff.

Have you ever been dumped? If so, what was the reason?

I’ve been dumped a lot, actually. Many of the times you don’t even get a reason, it just fizzles out. The one time that we had that whole discussion, I think at the time I was just too selfish. I’m pretty sure that’s what it boiled down to. We were just on different pages.

What’s your pettiest relationship deal-breaker?

Not that I want them calling me all the time, but never calling me and then expecting me to have to call them all the time. I’ve definitely let stuff die because of that because I’m just tired of phone tag. If you like me, just text me, let me know. I’ll text you back, I’ll call you.

What would you order for your last meal?

Prime rib, mashed potatoes, gravy, Key lime pie. Actually, scratch that. It’d have to be Japanese food. Pork tonkatsu. It’s just like breaded pork. It’s awesome.

Name a well-regarded band you don’t like.

Vampire Weekend. Everything about their sound just annoys the shit out of me.

With whom would you like to play Truth or Dare?

Because it’s the Lust List, I feel like it has to be somebody racy. It would have to be Penelope Cruz.

What would be the title of your autobiography?

Trying to Make Sense of It All. That’s pretty honest, right?

What did your parents want you to do with your life?

They say they’re open to me doing anything. But I’m pretty sure they want me to be a lawyer.

What’s your life’s ambition/grandest dream?

To support myself by just touring as a DJ. And write a novel on the side. I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive, I think they’d be two things I’d try to work on. A novel not about DJing, just write a novel.

What celebrity would you like to be stuck in an elevator with?

Shit, I already said Penelope Cruz! Damn! George Clooney. He’s a nice guy, pretty interesting. If he’s not available, Penelope Cruz again.

What’s your preferred footwear?

Boots. Gotta go with the Clarks desert boot.

What’s the most romantic place in Atlanta?

Am I gonna be honest or be clever? I think Carroll Street Café is pretty damn romantic. You can’t go into the park after dark, but there’s a certain amount of romance in Piedmont Park.

What’s your wackiest piece of personal trivia?

I wanna say that I was mistaken for Jeff Goldblum’s son once by a friend of his and then they had me play a joke on this other friend of his. They were in a store. This guy who was in the store with this other actor, they were shopping, they said, “You know who you look like? You look like Jeff Goldblum’s son. You ever heard that?” I said, “No.” They were like, “You look exactly like him.” He said, “We’re going to play a joke on my friend who knows Jeff Goldblum.” It’s very awkward trying to lie — and not being committed to the lie about being his son — for this guy I don’t know.

At what bar/restaurant would you like to have an open tab?

Holeman and Finch. Maybe Righteous Room? Not high-class, not low-class, but classy and divey.

What personal attribute are you a sucker for?

When somebody is opinionated. You know, somebody I can have a conversation with who can have a complete thought. If you’re a thoughtful, opinionated person.

Where would you go on your sweepstakes vacation?

I’d go to the Bahamas. I’ve never been to the Bahamas.

Describe your relationship to exercise.

We’ve been separated a very long time. I like to hike, but I don’t fool myself into thinking I’m an exercise nut. I walk a lot, but I don’t fool myself into thinking that I exercise. But people think I exercise. They think I’m super-healthy just because I’m slender. I have no workout regimen. I keep saying that I need to, but the older I get ...

Not counting rent or bills, where does most of your disposable income go?

Buying books, buying records and Videodrome lately.

If you had to spend $1 million in one afternoon, what would you do?

I would buy music production gear, get a new car. Investing probably doesn’t count as spending, but I’d find some way to invest the money. I’d buy stupid shit. I’d buy clothes, I’d buy music gear, I’d buy a car.

Have you ever stolen a friend’s girlfriend?

I have a few of them. They were broken up, so I didn’t actually steal them. You gotta stress that they were broken up! You can’t have it out there that I’m stealin’ dudes’ girlfriends. My friends and I had a laugh about it.

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What’s your character flaw you’d most like to fix?

Too much self-consciousness. Sometimes I’m too wrapped up in my own thoughts inside my own head.

What silly thing are you most vain about?

I think my hair. That’s gonna sound so bad in print. I just ... I think I have an odd-shaped head and that it looks weird. I see pictures and I’m like, “My hair just looks so stupid.” It is what it is.

Why do you think someone nominated you for the Lust List?

I actually don’t know. I’ve been trying to figure it out. I wanna say it’s a joke of some sort. I thought you were gonna ask a racy question!