While their September 16 concert at the Miami Beach Bandshell is Stereolab's first-ever headlining show in Miami, you might be surprised to learn this is not the avant-pop group's debut performance in Miami. Apparently, in 1994, the four-piece played the second stage at Lollapalooza on the Bicentennial Park field, where the Perez Art Museum now stands. It's hard to imagine Stereolab's international lounge vibe fitting in with the high-energy hip-hop of the Beastie Boys and a Tribe Called Quest or the angsty guitar rock of L7 or the Smashing Pumpkins. But even under that hot August sun, their French-language synth sound could have mixed with anything.

Some years after I missed the chance of being introduced to Stereolab at Lollapalooza, I started noticing their CDs mixed in friends' and st

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