Is That All There Is
Animals“Is That All There Is?” is the Peggy Lee song the narrator chooses to sing first during a drunken karaoke outing with Tyler. Its appearance marks the beginning of a night in which singing, dancing, and drinking gradually blur the distinction between the two friends.
The Song in the Karaoke Scene
The narrator and Tyler walk to a karaoke joint in Chinatown after finishing two bottles of wine. Only six people are there at first: a quiet middle-aged couple drinking tropical-looking cocktails and two teenage boys nursing illegal pints. The narrator takes the microphone for “Is That All There Is?” while Tyler dances with anyone she can persuade to join her.
A Night That Gathers Momentum
More wine follows, and the room fills. A DJ appears, the gaps between songs grow, and more people begin singing. Against that increasing bustle, the narrator and Tyler are described as disintegrating and losing their differences. The song is therefore part of a shared performance that grows from an initially sparse room into a crowded, increasingly immersive night.
The Title’s Resonance
The title poses a question, but the scene does not supply a direct answer. Instead, the performance sits at the start of a night that keeps expanding through drink, music, and company. As the narrator and Tyler become harder to distinguish from one another, the question’s open-endedness contrasts with the immediate intensity of their shared experience.
