Old school

Old school is an adjective. We use it to describe things which are old-fashioned in a good way. A typical example would be the barber shop on my street. This is a place where men get their hair cut. Only men. They have magazines for men and the place is very simple and direct: you go in, sit down, wait for your turn, and get a haircut. This haircut is good and very, very inexpensive. There are no fancy shampoos and conditioners for sale, and no house music playing. This barber shop is old school. In Barcelona, we still have a lot of places which are old school, and that's a wonderful thing. You can also use old school to apply to a person, a strategy, a way of doing things. The key is that you admire the classic elements of the thing you're talking about.

Here's a video of Joan Armatrading singing a song she wrote called "Love and Affection." The year was 1976. To me, Joan Armatrading is old school. I wish this video didn't have any advertising or the name "Dave" across the top, but I think it's still worth it to see Joan and hear the song. See what you think...



P.S. This post is dedicated to Tanya Figueroa, maven of cheese, great teacher, and lovely friend, someone who appreciates the best of what's old school.