Why is vinyl making a comeback? ‘Nostalgia’ doesn’t quite cut it

Over the past few years, analog goods including physical books, board games and, of course, vinyl records have experienced a surprising resurgence – despite the fact that these technologies are functionally obsolete. How could this be happening? Why would someone pay $20 or more for a second-hand copy of Bill Withers’ “+Justments” on a scratchy melted plastic disc that plays only on a costly, troublesome turntable, when she could stream the same album in digital clarity on Spotify for free? The conventional wisdom is that nostalgia is to blame for this twee trend: Millenials, hipsters or that most-coveted demographic, the millennial hipster, are indulging in some perverse Wes Anderson fantasy.