Sun Kil Moon's
This Is My Dinner was recorded over a few days in November and December of 2017, with singer/songwriter
Mark Kozelek backed by a small group of musicians including guitarist
Ramon Fermin, drummer
Jim White, and keyboardist
Chris Connolly. They generally play relaxed, unhurried musical backdrops, over which
Kozelek sings about touring, hotels, the news, boxing, and his sex life. During "Linda Blair," he tells his listeners to show gratitude for the good things in the world. A particularly poignant moment occurs during the album's title track; the titular line comes when
Kozelek is recounting a gig in Norway, and the promoter is so broke that she can only afford to eat a Snickers bar.
Kozelek offers to give her some money, but she refuses, saying it wouldn't be right. On "Soap for Joyful Hands,"
Kozelek recalls a conversation with someone who asks what other passions he has in life beside music, and he insists that there aren't any; music is what he devotes his life to, and anything else would just be distracting. Certainly, this resonates with anyone who is obsessed with music and little else. Elsewhere, he pays tribute to
David Cassidy by covering
the Partridge Family's theme song, and
Malcolm Young by revisiting
AC/DC's "Rock 'N' Roll Singer."