THE LAST WORD: Much to the delight...

THE LAST WORD: Much to the delight of the music industry, the release of Spinal Tap’s album “Break Like the Wind” (see story, Page 8) is coming complete with a barrage of very amusing promotional items. Among them: a pair of drumsticks (don’t use them for gardening) and a box labeled “1992 Spinal Tap Calendar,” which contains a metal colander with a note explaining that it was an ordering error and expressing hope that it will be of use.

But the masterstroke is a special edition of the CD in a custom “Extra-Long Box”--at 18 inches instead of the usual 12 inches, a full 50% bigger than the standard, controversial cardboard container. A note on the back reads:

“The Extra-Long Box is an environmentally conscious product which utilizes more of our precious recycled resources than any other compact disc packaging. Its very shape pays homage to the trees of our planet’s noble forests.”