Cliché lyrics are in the ear of the beholder for sure. We all have those phrases that make our eyes roll. It's impossible to write and make the whole world happy. You write what makes you happy and ignore people who aren't into it.

That being said, I do have a text file with a list of cliché lines from songs on it. I add to it sporatically and sparingly. It has to be a really high level cliché to make the list. I heard two today...

• "it's a choice I have to make"
• "get my feet on the ground"

There is an old way to slightly dampen the ring of a drum using felt and a clip. You take a strong clip and clip a stack of felt to the rim. The stack is made up of strips. When you hit the drum, the felt flies up allowing the drum to sound like a drum. As the felt falls back down it gently cuts of the ring of the drum.

There are other ways to dampen a drum for sure like putting tape on the head or detuning one lug. Since I am using the house kit at clubs in Japan, it feels rude to get tape gunk on their heads or mess with the tunings.

Clipping on some felt from the local 100¥ store could be the solution to reduce some of the clanginess. It was also cool that when I went felt shopping, there was a wide range of color packs. The only things I am wondering about is which kind of clip is going to be able to stay on. Might have to go hunting for some tiny clamps.