Hey, Joe!
"Old school" or not, there is certainly nothin' wrong about frequent oil & filter changes! Out with the old & in with the new sure can't hurt.
My frequency is based upon the MB recommendation of every 7,500 being the baseline: I find the nice, even, 5K intervals easier for my wife to remember, and my last 5 changes have shown very little darkening of the oil (most 15W-40's are a little dark to begin with), nothing particular (as in "particulate") coming out of the pan, very little debris in the filter itself, no need to add any additional oil between changes & what appears to still be a very clean valvetrain to begin with.
self-edit: "& 8 quarts of oil for a 4.2 liter motor is a fair amount"
Pretty much a personal preference, really. Some people believe you can't chage it often enough, special weights for different seasons, specific (and very limited) additives, by-pass filters, etc. And, yet, there surely are a ton of higher mileage cars running around with clean engines, low wear, and all due to taking it into the dealer every 7,500 miles or so...
Oil is generally SO much better now than it was even ten years ago that it is pretty tough to go wrong as long as you are still meeting the minimum MB spec and are in the general ballpark vis'-a-vis' viscosity.
(I had to use that line once!) IMHO
This is all predicated, of course, on older vehicles out of the ol' warranty claim game. Newer models are designed to different spec. Be mindful of some newer BMW M3 owners whose choice(s?) may be effectively limited to one Euro oil, primarilly available ONLY at the dealership for whatever they choose to charge!
The "$100+ oil change" is, apparently, not a myth!
I think the advice on this site is "HOT! & often!", which ain't a bad way to go!
Regards!