Old school

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"Old School" redirects here. For other uses, see Old School (film), Old School (novel), or Old School (song).

Old school, variously spelled old skool, oldschool or oldskool, is a slang term referring to an older school of thinking or acting and to old objects in general, within the context of newer, more modern times. Rather than carrying the negative connotation of obsolete, it may be used to refer to a time of perceived higher standards or level of craft. The term "old school" may be effectively equivalent to "They just don't make 'em like this anymore".

Old school is often interchangeable with the word nostalgic, but practitioners of semantics often define old school as simply something of an earlier period but not necessarily inferior or hopelessly dated. Nostalgia, on the other hand, is often given a negative connotation. For example, as a sentimental attachment to dated works many of which are now considered embarrassingly 'corny' or 'cheesy' in their execution, yet retaining a place in one's sentiments as a guilty pleasure or relic of one's youth. Old school items or concepts, in contrast, are shown to have residual real-world functionality.

[edit] History

The term came originally from religion--in the 19th century the Presbyterians split into "Old School" and "New School" denominations, based on theology. This usage, however, had no impact on popular culture and the term did not approach mainstream use until around 1986, when it was popularized by rap musicians.

"Old School", in early hip hop culture, simply referred to the originators of any particular area. Thus a modern spoken word poet might reference beat poets as "old school". In rap music, old school originally meant the earliest period of rap, from its inception in the 1970s, until that time. The original "old school" of rap was considered the likes of "Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambataa, Sugar Hill Gang, Kurtis Blow and Run-DMC. Sometimes, the period of 1984 to 1986, with rappers such as LL Cool J was called "Mid-School". "The New School" comprised the new crop of rappers rising up after that period, such as Public Enemy and Eric B & Rakim. But as another of this group of rappers, KRS-One reminds us in his 1988 rap "Still Number One":

Rap is still an art, and no-one's from the Old School

cuz Rap is still a brand-new tool

I say No one's from the old school, cuz rap as a whole

Isn't even 20 years old

50 years down the line we can start this

cuz we'll be the 'old school' artists...

Sure enough, by the mid 1990s, late 80s and early 90s rap acts were being called "old school". It was at this point that the term then spread to R & B, (for instance, a series of Warner Brothers Records CD re-releases were dubbed "Black Music Ol' Skool"). From there, it spread to the other forms of music and finally, the rest of the modern uses.

[edit] Specific uses

Old school hip hop, referring to the hip hop music of anywhere from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. Hip hop historians consider the late 1970s to 1986 to be old school, then 1986 to 1993 as Golden Age, but the mainstream often refers to the late 1980s, early 1990s period as Old School.^{[citation needed]}
For classic car fans, old school can refer to a style based on popular styles of a particular era.
For electronic music fans, Oldskool (with a 'K', one word) is now a popular term that usually refers to a style of music popular in the early 1990s, which was at the time called breakbeat hardcore or rave. The style fragmented in the mid 1990s but the "cheezy" Old Skool roots and even direct samples are easily found in many Happy Hardcore genre tracks as well as in other genres that share a common link with breakbeat hardcore.
Old Skool/rave style parties are still widely held in the UK. Referring back to the music generally played at raves during the period 90-94 that were staged by the likes of Fantazia], Raindance, Obsession, The Eclipse, Helterskelter and Perception. Several of these companies still stage events, alongside a number of newer names.
In the world of rock music, Old School usually refers to the period between the early 1970s, when hard rock and heavy metal emerged, and the early 1990s, just before the advent of grunge. This period is a common format for classic rock/AOR radio stations.
For heavy metal music old school refers to the big guitar sounds of bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest and is the opposite of nu-metal.
In computer and video games, the dividing line for Old School is often before the advent of 3D graphics, generally the 8 to 32-bit sprite based games of the late-1970s to mid-1990s such as Super Mario Bros.
In demoscene, an old school production means a production made before the mid-1990s.
Some fans of pencil and paper role playing games use the term to describe RPGs characterized by simple game mechanics and flexible rules. The character generation system in such RPGs tend to lack extensive lists of skills and abilities. Basic Dungeons & Dragons and the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons are often considered "old school" role playing games.
The term is also in use in skateboarding, referring to the third generation.
In tattooing the term refers to the style of tattoos that developed from the classic sailor, military and carnival tattoos of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is characterized by bold lines and maritime themes, as well as pinup girls and classics like the heart pierced by a dagger. Those who tattoo primarily in this style often refuse the term "tattoo artist" and go by "tattooists". The most famous of Old School tattooers is probably Sailor Jerry. This style is sometimes called "classic" or "Americana".
The "Old Skool" is also a style of shoe made by Vans.