Oooh, that does look great. Very similar to JB Mono, but I like the defaults in Commit Mono a bit better overall. The asterisk, the positioning of the quote marks, the slashed 0 instead of dotted.
You aren't alone in that. It's actually prompted me to sit here and reflect on that very thing. Things are definitely too slick and sterile compared to those earlier days of pioneering wonder.
Sounds like I'm going to have to give it a try, then. I usually go minimalist with WMs because, as you said in your last sentence, it "gets out of your way." That's the best thing an interface can do.
Felt like distro hopping again anyway, might as well try out the new Gnome while I'm at it.