Kaetlin Perna
July 28, 2006

Lakeshore Records: Rochester's one and only rare record store that sells... well, rare music and films. Walking up to the door, the speakers outside are lightly playing some house-beat, break-beat, trance-beat, maybe some accordion and saw. When you open the door, the music becomes slightly louder when walking toward a Listening DVD and CD rack, with the Magazine rack skewed behind it. Next to that, on the side of the counter, is my favorite section - the Used and Music DVDs. My goal every week when I go in there is to find a DVD that I'd never buy and/or have never seen (I'm pretentious I know).

Now I wonder sometimes, I'm very keen to the thought process of one who works behind a counter, but what do these cool, ultra hip, record store working, great music listening people think of a that girl who comes in every week and bugs them about what she should choose? "Okay, Style Wars or Season 2 of In Living Color, which one?" I'd like to think the way I'm seen is in that cool art house, digital, mid-frame, medium lighting shot film that I'm constantly buying and watching. I can see it now with a voice over. "That's Kaetlin; she's a writer. She walks in the door, says 'Hello,' walks straight to the Used DVD rack and carefully surveys the selection. Over and over, pacing around the store, she tries to make a decision. Meticulously deciding her choice for the week, I wonder what she's thinking. She's so awesome, more people should be like her, and she must have an awesome collection at home." Naturally they think in that awesome record store employee way where it's warped by great music and independent styles. So if that's what they are thinking when I'm there, I'll tell you what's going on.

I walk in through the door, with a mission. My mission is to find a DVD that I don't have, never watched and/or would never typically buy. "Hey there's Style Wars... okay, not now, must find something, something..." The brunette philosophical writer behind the counter tells me I should get Heavenly Creatures. "Do I really want Heavenly Creatures, do I really want to add to my Peter Jackson collection? If I don't get it will the girl be offended? Ooo there's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Fargo, I've never seen Fargo! But I love Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze... let me sit on it."

So in my hand sits Heavenly Creatures, Eternal Sunshine, and Fargo. I pace the store, flipping through various cds thinking, "This would be a good column, yeah, this music makes me feel like I'm in a movie, you know those cool art house films that you watch on Sundance with that cool voice over. I hope they don't' see me switching Invite Them Up with the cd in front of it, so it's toward the front. I've never seen Fargo, its out. Hey Patton Oswalt, I'll get that! I can always get Eternal Sunshine, so that's out. So Patton Oswalt and Heavenly Creatures it is. This really would be a good column. I wonder what they're thinking over there..."

Of course, if this was my movie, this would be Empire Records-esque, and Rory Cochrane would make a cameo. I once asked the brunette philosophical writer if it was awesome to work at a record store, she said the luster wears off after a year when you realize you don't get benefits or breaks. But it's a record store! I know I am already living half the dream: working in a coffeeshop, and I think my dream life would be complete if I worked in a record store. I don't know if I'd be analyzing the life and purchase choices of one girl that came in once a week.