Kenny, I hope you’ve got life insurance — because you’re flying into the danger zone. On tonight’s episode of FX’s incredibly clever animated espionage comedy “Archer,” Kenny Loggins actually gets into a knock down, drag out fight with the world’s least secret agent. Fans have been waiting to hear from the man behind the words since Sterling Archer first whispered them to Lana oh so many years ago (okay, it was 2009), and they’ll have their chance on tonight’s episode of the homage-friendly show when Loggins himself appears as none other than…himself. Shoot. I had something here. Anyway, the musician behind the classic “Top Gun” song (as well as “Footloose” and many other memorable ’80s anthems) took a few minutes out of his day to have a “Heart to Heart” with reporters about his one-episode guest stint on a show he’s “been a fan of from the beginning.” Here are the highlights:
Kenny Loggins thinks he’s a total badass.
…on the show. When asked what he thought of the outrageous version of himself created by the writers, Loggins said, “I think that’s what I love about it the most, that it really takes and extends the character beyond anything that I’ve ever been. I’m a total badass in this episode and it’s fun.”
He also thinks he looks like a terrorist.
Again, on the show. Loggins was asked what he thought when he first saw himself in animated form. “Well, I thought I looked a little bit like a terrorist,” Loggins said. “I kept saying, ‘Can we push it a
little bit more towards the way I actually looked?’ And they said, ‘Well, we think it is.’ And I went, “Well, okay. Let’s work with that then.”
Loggins “didn’t do a lot of laughing” at the start of season five, “Archer Vice.”
Though he’s a big fan of the show, Loggins had his doubts about the show’s dramatic shift this season from ISIS agents to cocaine dealers. “I was surprised when they decided to go into the cocaine business,” Loggins said. “I wasn’t sure what they were going to do with that. Still not [sure]. I was a little worried on those first couple episodes because I didn’t do a lot of
laughing. I thought, ‘Well, they must be trying to establish this premise, and they may be having trouble finding the humor in it. But I think certainly last week it’s taken off now. I’m not worried.”
“Danger Zone” was the last of Loggins’ titles he expected would make a good country song.
On March 3, the fine folks behind “Archer” will be releasing an album titled “Cherlene” featuring a duet between Cheryl/Carol/Cherlene (Judy Greer) and Kenny Loggins. The duo sing a country version of the musician’s smash hit — and Archer’s consistent call back — “Danger Zone,” and it actually sounds better than even its creators expected. “I never would have thought ‘Danger Zone’ would make a good country song,” Loggins said when asked about what other songs from his canon could be countrified. “‘Footloose’ was recorded by Blake Shelton [for the excellent remake of ‘Footloose’ the movie] because it always had country roots to it. Especially the early stuff, the Loggins and Messina era, lends itself to being countrified easily.”
Advice for upcoming musicians: “If you can quit, do it.”
Loggins seems to have soured on the music industry. When asked what advice he had for upcoming musicians, he responded with the above statement and then some. “You might as well go to Vegas,” the Grammy-award-winning musician said. “My son tried it from the time he was like 18 to 29
and it’s just extremely difficult. But I think that you have to become a master of
social media to break in and really pay attention to what it is ad how it’s being done. I’ve got a new band [Blue Sky Riders] and it’s like starting
from the very beginning.”
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
