We continue our series on life-changing records by the music scribes here at the Planet. This time, Wayne "Poho" Garcia, whose interests go well beyond mere politics, weighs in on his:

Hibtone

R.E.M, Radio Free Europe/Sitting Still (original 7-inch single on Hibtone) I was a student at the University of Georgia in the late 1970s. Athens was just starting to simmer its original music scene that became so well known a decade later. The B-52s had just left town for NYC. Some of my freshman dorm roomies went and saw their last Athens show. For me, the highlight of my GA musical experience came at Tyrone’s OC, a club that featured mostly punkish and rockabilly acts. One night I wandered into a set by a brand-new band called R.E.M. I don’t dance, but I was compelled to by the power of the act. It was the single most affecting night of live music I have ever witnessed. Michael Stipe bounded around the stage while the band played covers like the Clash’s “Ivan Meet’s GI Joe.”

This article appears in Jun 14-20, 2006.

Eric Snider is the dean of Bay area music critics. He started in the early 1980s as one of the founding members of Music magazine, a free bi-monthly. He was the pop music critic for the then-St. Petersburg...