Maybe it's because of the success of grassroots campaigns like Record Store Day.
Where digital sales have hurt, and will soon kill, the CD, I think the tangibility of vinyl makes it more appealing to consumers and connoisseurs of music. If you are going to sit down and enjoy a record, it's nice to hold a large-print cover sleeve in your hand while you do. It comes down to experience.
The experience of pressing play on a CD player is no different than pressing play on an mp3 player. However, the experience of putting on a record, watching it spin, and dropping the needle represent an entirely more gratifying process. And teaming that with resulting analog audio creates an organic experience which is thoroughly endangered in the information age. Vinyl is does not just represent nostalgia, it represents a lifeline back to simpler times.
The format of vinyl also lends itself to more of a symbiotic relationship with digital music, and I've been pleased to see more records being released with download codes for digital versions. The best of both worlds.
Even 7"s, the most infamously indie of all formats, are making a comeback.
Fader magazine has partnered with Southern Comfort to release a series of limited edition 7"s featuring some of their favorite bands, and #10 in the series features a curious nautical theme: Wavves' surfy-freakout "Friends Were Gone" b/w Windsurf's electronic smooth-porn groove "Vapour Trails."
Vinyl has even become part of the business plan for smaller labels. Black Iris is an indie that would appear to make most of its money licensing songs to ad agencies, then rinse their souls clean by releasing limited edition 7" for fans. Their composers include members of The Walkmen, Earlimart and others, like Foreign Born, who will be dropping a 7" this spring. The a-side is "Vacationing People," which reminds me a lot of Peter, Bjorn and John (in a good way).
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