(Photo: Brad Paris)

Is there truth behind the store’s conceited-music-geek reputation?
Everyone thinks we’re from the High Fidelity school of indie-clerk asshole. But no one here is a curmudgeon jerk that jeers at customers.

You started working here in 1998. How has music changed since then?
When we got the first Coldplay single in 2000, it sat here for months. Back then, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs brought in CDRs that were burned every week for the store. Drum and bass was massive, but you don’t really find that anymore. Most people who were buying drum and bass are now buying reggae or dubstep, a nice synthesis of commercial hip-hop and R&B that has the same feeling and darkness.

Who do you love?
All the British stuff. I’m a Creation [Records] kid. Teenage Fanclub and My Bloody Valentine are amazing. I saw Slowdive and Ride play in Omaha. I’m from Nebraska.

Favorite MBV album?
Loveless. Whenever I listen to it, I hear something different.

What are some new, interesting bands?
Beirut fuses old Jewish gypsy instrumentals with rock. For something more fuck-shit-up-let’s-party, there’s the 1990s, a band from Glasgow.

Why don’t boyfriends make mix tapes anymore?
You’re not meeting the right guys. When you meet someone, just beg or force him to make you a mix. If he puts Toby Keith on there, you’ll immediately know that you’re going to go wrong.

Related:

• Archive: “Ask Shop Clerk”
• Articles by Kai Ma
• Table of Contents: Oct 22, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!