August 24, 2026 • 14 mins
Featured Artist: Meg Mac
Featured Vinyl: It’s My Party
Alexis’ Hot Pick
What Have You Done
Sam’s Hot Pick
I’m Gonna _ Somebody
Aus Music Alert! Support this artists by purchasing this record via Bandcamp: https://megmac.bandcamp.com/
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CREDITS
Created and Hosted by Alexis Naylor
Co-Host: Sam Timmerman
Music by Alexis Naylor & Ruby Miguel
Voiceover: Ruby Miguel
Edited and Produced by Ruby Miguel
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:43):
Hello, hello, hello, Sam.
Oh my goodness, another week and another B-Side episode.
What have you got for us?
It's good to be back again.
I got excited with this because, you know every now and again you'd see a weird connection with older part of life or some history you've got.
(01:05):
I had a fun time with a friend a little while ago when they just mentioned that their daughter's favorite artist was Meg Mac.
And I went, "I know Meg Mac. She's great." And I came across I think it's her fourth studio album now.
It's My Party, and I was so excited 'cause I came across it in the local record store and went, "Yeah, I don't have that yet." And now we do And learning that a friend of yours has a daughter who absolutely adores an old uni friend is fantastic So that's the backstory.
(01:41):
But anyway, now we have this to talk about, and I'm very excited.
I've been listening to it a bunch, and it's great And the fact that I hadn't really listened to it until I picked this up as well was actually exciting
Well, for those listening, Sam's got the beautiful vinyl in his hot little hands.
This is the baby blue edition, which I found out is actually the standard.
(02:02):
Yes, there's two runs of this.
There's the baby blue and there's also the, What color is the, the artist exclusive neon pink version,
which
pink?
But I didn't hear that bit.
I heard it was a different color.
I didn't know it, it wasn't neon pink.
It was, it's neon pink with a signed postcard.
Oh, wow
(02:22):
That sounds gorgeous.
But in the meantime the baby blue, I will hold it up to camera because it's very pretty
It is very pretty.
Look at that
I really love… She always has really striking photos for her imagery for
Yeah, that's true actually
for promo, and she's always wearing quite structured clothing.
(02:44):
She's either in black or white and hats or no hats, but they're very they're very structured, very classic shapes, which I quite enjoy
Yeah.
This this inside sleeve photo that we're talking about here is taken by Tim Georgeson, who I had a quick little Google of, and
He's
like Syn- Sydney and Montreal
Bounce between Sydney and Montreal.
Amazing.
(03:04):
Um, I-- we can't talk about him too much now because the, the conversation would go on for years.
But if you have a couple of minutes to have your mind blown, go and read Tim Georgeson's CV and the list of awards,
And also go and check out his work.
It's incredible
(03:25):
Yeah.
Very striking indeed
Yeah.
Front cover as well, photo was taken by Heather Gildroy of Sun and Air Films.
Heather's work is fantastic.
She's, all sorts of celebrity and artists as well
But yes, beautiful artwork and great record.
My first listen was sitting in the car and I think I was just waiting to be somewhere for some reason.
(03:47):
Had half an hour to myself, which is amazing, and getting to sit and listen was great
Did you have a top pick?
Yeah a couple.
A couple.
Or originally I was going to go with "Tune I'll Be Singing 'Til I'm Dead," and which for me was that kind of musical brain getting lit up.
(04:10):
The melody is just clean.
It's a lot of fun.
The chorus melody is not something that I picked initially, but had a lot of fun with it.
But after that, I went back and listened again, and actual hot pick is, "I'm Gonna Somebody."
Great song.
(04:32):
Great song.
Great
self-censoring here.
If you haven't listened to the album, you need to go and listen to it so that we know what we're talking about.
I'm gonna somebody.
Which, come on, Meg, it's genius
Oh hugely.
It's so interesting that you say that's your top pick.
That was my runner-up, 'cause I found it quite
difficult to pick one.
Yeah.
Because I just I concur.
(04:53):
I think it's really cheeky.
It has a bit of that energy that I think does encapsulate the whole album actually, sitting in this song.
I'm gonna somebody.
And,
have to think of a better way to say it, but I
don't think
I could go- I could say underscore or quote unquote blank.
(05:14):
I'm gonna quote unquote blank somebody.
Yeah.
It's, yeah, I, it… I feel like the music very much matches the lyrics and the impulsiveness of it.
That driving bass in there, that layering that it flows into that laying, layering syn- synths, vocals, guitar.
(05:35):
Yeah, it's really nice, and then coming into that really full band sound with the drums coming back in.
So very epic arrival, I'd say, but it's very pop-ish
Yeah.
I was trying to think if there's any other… I couldn't think of another song that I knew that had that leaving space in the lyrics for someone to write their own story, which I thought was very cool.
(05:59):
But how
and that's, that's the fun that I had with it, was seeing how many different words I could put in and what it would mean
Yeah.
I don't know, as someone who played with Lego as a kid, I was very excited.
I can make my own.
Choose your own adventure
Yeah, exactly.
And subconsciously I went, "I'm gonna be somebody." And then it happened later in the song, and I went, "This is great
(06:21):
Yep.
But the switch, you're right.
The ins- the instrumentation switch was fun.
Going-- It's a, that bit more kind of a little bit ambient, a little bit… Don't know how to describe that first half.
When it comes into the into the groove second half, it is a little bit whimsical, a little bit kind of bouncy.
Which I thought was really fun to just deliver a pretty not really a stark message, but a pretty serious message.
(06:48):
And I do think that it comes to that epic arrival.
It's showing you how… it is cheeky, but also it's making you pay attention
Yeah.
Yeah, definitely.
and the way in which this song builds with its instrumentation really does lend to that, which,
Yeah, and that's why I liked "Until I'm Dead" as well, 'cause it was-- The lyric content is, it's a pretty-- It can be pretty sad messages sometimes, but it's delivered in a really fun way, which was cool.
(07:20):
Did you have a-- You said you, this was your runner-up.
So my runner-up,
what was your hot pick?
My top pick was What Have You Done?
Interesting
Ah, I'm such a sucker for, it's that whole opening idea that, we're supposedly given this one life with no guarantees.
(07:42):
It's that message of almost self-panic, especially for… I feel like there's milestones in life where whether it's people who go, "Oh, I'm now turning 20, I'm now turning 30, I'm now turning 40, and maybe have I missed opportunities?
I done the right things?
Have I said the right things?" You potentially can be in this, whirlwind of trapped in regret. But I also think that's pretty common to have felt that once in your life, having that emotional sort of crossing the road or fork in the road should I say, where you go, "Shit, wait.
(08:23):
Actually, no, life isn't over.
I've still got plenty of life to live and still many choices to be made." But yeah, I think because of the messaging behind the song, I really do from a musical side as well, really love that full band foundation.
Again, there's quite a lot of synths throughout, layering of guitars, singing vocals.
(08:47):
It's very Meg Mac in that kinda way.
And very, very produced, but in a way to sound live bandy almost
Yes, exactly.
And I love that I, in my little rabbit hole, I saw that it was… She co-wrote it with Johnny Took from the DMAs Yeah.
(09:10):
And I love his work, so very… So I feel like, oh, there's a reason why I liked it
very very excited.
And the addition of just live drums throughout not every track though.
We're pretty heavily produced in some times when we head back into live mode.
I don't know it's like you say, it's very Meg.
She always loves to lean into the production side too, and it's not really…
(09:36):
It's very unapologetically produced
I do think that when you start to, like you said, fourth album for Meg, it's that thing where you, yeah, I don't know, maybe you're willing to play in a way that you haven't before.
She's had some amazing people being part of this record.
(09:59):
Yeah
she's had a, a length of guitarists that have been on there.
Yeah, amazing talents.
And with,
with Bullion as a producer as well,
yeah.
How could I forget that?
Yeah, exactly.
And for those who don't know he's worked with lots of amazing people and has a rap sheet all of his own.
So
Yeah, definitely
you just, when you're working with good people, you make good stuff, right?
(10:25):
It just all feeds off.
Exactly
I did love, though… I saw that she had this whole idea of planning the whole album to be, like, really dark and witchy vibes, and to be, like, quite serious, which I find interesting.
'Cause when I listen to it, I'm like, "Oh, yeah, that's definitely not where it's got," like, where it went, which happens quite a lot for artists.
(10:53):
You have an idea of an aesthetic or a, a concept album, but the reality is yeah, it changes.
And-
she's actually written that in the liner notes too.
Oh, is it?
That's kind of fun.
Yeah, absolutely
Love that.
Love that.
'Cause really, sometimes the best gift that you have is collaborating with other people, and because of those people that are involved, it ends up just changing the tapestry of that project in the best way possible that you would never come up with that on your own.
(11:23):
So yeah, no,
Yeah, there's a beautiful, there's a beautiful message on the back.
I won't read it in full, but maybe can we can have it in there, maybe in the show notes or something if we can get it in.
Sure.
Is there any one particular bit that you like?
I love the fact that it is actually naming and calling out a lot of the people that she got to work with and who actually steered her in this direction.
(11:48):
But that line is just, "I thought I had this album all planned out, and honestly, not one single thing went to plan, and I couldn't be more grateful."
See, this is what I mean.
Sometimes, and that's not even just as an artist, but even in life, like those listening, I'd love for you to put your, your thoughts through.
Send it to our DMs.
(12:09):
But if we always got what we wanted in life, how boring it would be.
That's very
Honestly, sometimes the best things for us are the things that we wouldn't envision for ourselves
Very true.
And look, neither of us chose It's My Party, which I thought… I don't know.
Does anyone get offended at that?
(12:29):
I'm not sure.
But not getting what you wanted
Yep.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Oh, It's My Party.
What a great album.
I love this offering that you've given.
Thanks.
It's been fun.
It's it's lovely to listen to the work of people who I've had the absolute pleasure of kind of cutting my teeth with in the past.
(12:56):
And there's always a feeling when you're working with people like you, you're gonna be amazing and more amazing than you already are, and it's so good to see this, and she's an absolute superstar
Love.
Love.
Love it.
For those listening, Meg Mac, It's Your Party.
Get it into your ear holes.
Support Australian artists
Hello, hello, hello, Sam.
Oh my goodness, another week and another B-Side episode.
What have you got for us?
It's good to be back again.
I got excited with this because, you know every now and again you'd see a weird connection with older part of life or some history you've got.
(01:05):
I had a fun time with a friend a little while ago when they just mentioned that their daughter's favorite artist was Meg Mac.
And I went, "I know Meg Mac. She's great." And I came across I think it's her fourth studio album now.
It's My Party, and I was so excited 'cause I came across it in the local record store and went, "Yeah, I don't have that yet." And now we do And learning that a friend of yours has a daughter who absolutely adores an old uni friend is fantastic So that's the backstory.
(01:41):
But anyway, now we have this to talk about, and I'm very excited.
I've been listening to it a bunch, and it's great And the fact that I hadn't really listened to it until I picked this up as well was actually exciting
Well, for those listening, Sam's got the beautiful vinyl in his hot little hands.
This is the baby blue edition, which I found out is actually the standard.
(02:02):
Yes, there's two runs of this.
There's the baby blue and there's also the, What color is the, the artist exclusive neon pink version,
which
pink?
But I didn't hear that bit.
I heard it was a different color.
I didn't know it, it wasn't neon pink.
It was, it's neon pink with a signed postcard.
Oh, wow
(02:22):
That sounds gorgeous.
But in the meantime the baby blue, I will hold it up to camera because it's very pretty
It is very pretty.
Look at that
I really love… She always has really striking photos for her imagery for
Yeah, that's true actually
for promo, and she's always wearing quite structured clothing.
(02:44):
She's either in black or white and hats or no hats, but they're very they're very structured, very classic shapes, which I quite enjoy
Yeah.
This this inside sleeve photo that we're talking about here is taken by Tim Georgeson, who I had a quick little Google of, and
He's
like Syn- Sydney and Montreal
Bounce between Sydney and Montreal.
Amazing.
(03:04):
Um, I-- we can't talk about him too much now because the, the conversation would go on for years.
But if you have a couple of minutes to have your mind blown, go and read Tim Georgeson's CV and the list of awards,
And also go and check out his work.
It's incredible
(03:25):
Yeah.
Very striking indeed
Yeah.
Front cover as well, photo was taken by Heather Gildroy of Sun and Air Films.
Heather's work is fantastic.
She's, all sorts of celebrity and artists as well
But yes, beautiful artwork and great record.
My first listen was sitting in the car and I think I was just waiting to be somewhere for some reason.
(03:47):
Had half an hour to myself, which is amazing, and getting to sit and listen was great
Did you have a top pick?
Yeah a couple.
A couple.
Or originally I was going to go with "Tune I'll Be Singing 'Til I'm Dead," and which for me was that kind of musical brain getting lit up.
(04:10):
The melody is just clean.
It's a lot of fun.
The chorus melody is not something that I picked initially, but had a lot of fun with it.
But after that, I went back and listened again, and actual hot pick is, "I'm Gonna Somebody."
Great song.
(04:32):
Great song.
Great
self-censoring here.
If you haven't listened to the album, you need to go and listen to it so that we know what we're talking about.
I'm gonna somebody.
Which, come on, Meg, it's genius
Oh hugely.
It's so interesting that you say that's your top pick.
That was my runner-up, 'cause I found it quite
difficult to pick one.
Yeah.
Because I just I concur.
(04:53):
I think it's really cheeky.
It has a bit of that energy that I think does encapsulate the whole album actually, sitting in this song.
I'm gonna somebody.
And,
have to think of a better way to say it, but I
don't think
I could go- I could say underscore or quote unquote blank.
(05:14):
I'm gonna quote unquote blank somebody.
Yeah.
It's, yeah, I, it… I feel like the music very much matches the lyrics and the impulsiveness of it.
That driving bass in there, that layering that it flows into that laying, layering syn- synths, vocals, guitar.
(05:35):
Yeah, it's really nice, and then coming into that really full band sound with the drums coming back in.
So very epic arrival, I'd say, but it's very pop-ish
Yeah.
I was trying to think if there's any other… I couldn't think of another song that I knew that had that leaving space in the lyrics for someone to write their own story, which I thought was very cool.
(05:59):
But how
and that's, that's the fun that I had with it, was seeing how many different words I could put in and what it would mean
Yeah.
I don't know, as someone who played with Lego as a kid, I was very excited.
I can make my own.
Choose your own adventure
Yeah, exactly.
And subconsciously I went, "I'm gonna be somebody." And then it happened later in the song, and I went, "This is great
(06:21):
Yep.
But the switch, you're right.
The ins- the instrumentation switch was fun.
Going-- It's a, that bit more kind of a little bit ambient, a little bit… Don't know how to describe that first half.
When it comes into the into the groove second half, it is a little bit whimsical, a little bit kind of bouncy.
Which I thought was really fun to just deliver a pretty not really a stark message, but a pretty serious message.
(06:48):
And I do think that it comes to that epic arrival.
It's showing you how… it is cheeky, but also it's making you pay attention
Yeah.
Yeah, definitely.
and the way in which this song builds with its instrumentation really does lend to that, which,
Yeah, and that's why I liked "Until I'm Dead" as well, 'cause it was-- The lyric content is, it's a pretty-- It can be pretty sad messages sometimes, but it's delivered in a really fun way, which was cool.
(07:20):
Did you have a-- You said you, this was your runner-up.
So my runner-up,
what was your hot pick?
My top pick was What Have You Done?
Interesting
Ah, I'm such a sucker for, it's that whole opening idea that, we're supposedly given this one life with no guarantees.
(07:42):
It's that message of almost self-panic, especially for… I feel like there's milestones in life where whether it's people who go, "Oh, I'm now turning 20, I'm now turning 30, I'm now turning 40, and maybe have I missed opportunities?
I done the right things?
Have I said the right things?" You potentially can be in this, whirlwind of trapped in regret. But I also think that's pretty common to have felt that once in your life, having that emotional sort of crossing the road or fork in the road should I say, where you go, "Shit, wait.
(08:23):
Actually, no, life isn't over.
I've still got plenty of life to live and still many choices to be made." But yeah, I think because of the messaging behind the song, I really do from a musical side as well, really love that full band foundation.
Again, there's quite a lot of synths throughout, layering of guitars, singing vocals.
(08:47):
It's very Meg Mac in that kinda way.
And very, very produced, but in a way to sound live bandy almost
Yes, exactly.
And I love that I, in my little rabbit hole, I saw that it was… She co-wrote it with Johnny Took from the DMAs Yeah.
(09:10):
And I love his work, so very… So I feel like, oh, there's a reason why I liked it
very very excited.
And the addition of just live drums throughout not every track though.
We're pretty heavily produced in some times when we head back into live mode.
I don't know it's like you say, it's very Meg.
She always loves to lean into the production side too, and it's not really…
(09:36):
It's very unapologetically produced
I do think that when you start to, like you said, fourth album for Meg, it's that thing where you, yeah, I don't know, maybe you're willing to play in a way that you haven't before.
She's had some amazing people being part of this record.
(09:59):
Yeah
she's had a, a length of guitarists that have been on there.
Yeah, amazing talents.
And with,
with Bullion as a producer as well,
yeah.
How could I forget that?
Yeah, exactly.
And for those who don't know he's worked with lots of amazing people and has a rap sheet all of his own.
So
Yeah, definitely
you just, when you're working with good people, you make good stuff, right?
(10:25):
It just all feeds off.
Exactly
I did love, though… I saw that she had this whole idea of planning the whole album to be, like, really dark and witchy vibes, and to be, like, quite serious, which I find interesting.
'Cause when I listen to it, I'm like, "Oh, yeah, that's definitely not where it's got," like, where it went, which happens quite a lot for artists.
(10:53):
You have an idea of an aesthetic or a, a concept album, but the reality is yeah, it changes.
And-
she's actually written that in the liner notes too.
Oh, is it?
That's kind of fun.
Yeah, absolutely
Love that.
Love that.
'Cause really, sometimes the best gift that you have is collaborating with other people, and because of those people that are involved, it ends up just changing the tapestry of that project in the best way possible that you would never come up with that on your own.
(11:23):
So yeah, no,
Yeah, there's a beautiful, there's a beautiful message on the back.
I won't read it in full, but maybe can we can have it in there, maybe in the show notes or something if we can get it in.
Sure.
Is there any one particular bit that you like?
I love the fact that it is actually naming and calling out a lot of the people that she got to work with and who actually steered her in this direction.
(11:48):
But that line is just, "I thought I had this album all planned out, and honestly, not one single thing went to plan, and I couldn't be more grateful."
See, this is what I mean.
Sometimes, and that's not even just as an artist, but even in life, like those listening, I'd love for you to put your, your thoughts through.
Send it to our DMs.
(12:09):
But if we always got what we wanted in life, how boring it would be.
That's very
Honestly, sometimes the best things for us are the things that we wouldn't envision for ourselves
Very true.
And look, neither of us chose It's My Party, which I thought… I don't know.
Does anyone get offended at that?
(12:29):
I'm not sure.
But not getting what you wanted
Yep.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Oh, It's My Party.
What a great album.
I love this offering that you've given.
Thanks.
It's been fun.
It's it's lovely to listen to the work of people who I've had the absolute pleasure of kind of cutting my teeth with in the past.
(12:56):
And there's always a feeling when you're working with people like you, you're gonna be amazing and more amazing than you already are, and it's so good to see this, and she's an absolute superstar
Love.
Love.
Love it.
For those listening, Meg Mac, It's Your Party.
Get it into your ear holes.
Support Australian artists
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