Really, you like the new bricks? I mean, a lot of people apparently do.. but the old brick texture worked with so many other blocks... hardened clay (yes, I still call it hardened clay - sue me), red stained hardened clay, jungle wood, granite, polished granite,...
I guess, I just don't think block variation works as well as it used to. Same with cobblestone, andesite, cracked stone bricks, stone,... yes, they're all still gray but they used to be from the same color palette... now they are so different that you can always tell it's different blocks. Texture variation is kinda dead. I mean, long time players still just do it out of habit, but I don't think the new textures lend themselves to experimenting like that if you're new to the game. In my opinion it leads to less varied build styles and more monotony...