MyCity_MyLife

SHOW #8

Iggy Pop’s Miami

On this month's 'My City, My Life', the CNN team hooks up with the American rock legend Iggy Pop in Miami, Florida. Iggy was, of course, the lead singer of 'The Stooges', the controversial garage band that gave birth to punk rock back in the swinging 60s. The group was infamous for its live performances - involving self-mutilation, narcotics, verbal abuse and many other zany antics.

Now in his 60s, Iggy Pop is no less tame - or more dressed. In this month's 'My City, My Life', the "Rock Iguana" takes us on a tour of the super-cool city of Miami. Florida's largest metropolis is known for its sunny shores, soulful style, smug beauties and, of course, South Beach.

CNN's 'My City, My Life' offers a glimpse of the glamour but also shows you the less salubrious side of the city. As we witness life in the back streets of the edgy, immigrant neightbourhoods, it becomes clear that Iggy Pop's take on Miami is no advertisement for the tourist board. Iggy also pays a visit to an old English pub, a voodoo store, a musical mecca and the beautiful Aviary Birdshop - an exotic glory that's as colourful as the rock star himself.

Iggy moved to Miami in the 1990's to escape his crazy lifestyle. "I was fed up after 25-years in huge, dark media-centric cities. I was looking for something in a kind of elegant coma with a lot of peace and convenience. It was a pretty nice life in Miami for the carefree set".

Now, says Iggy, Miami has changed. He has some explicit words for the developers who have "stolen some of the city's soul". He'd like to see less construction, fewer tourists and Miami's culture and old-fashioned charm preserved. But, for now: "I'm just keeping my mouth shut under my palm tree somewhere south of the city "- Iggy Pop (2008).