Something Corporate's "Ruthless" could well be the feel-good

retribution mantra anyone who's felt used and abused, rejected and

irreversibly affected by an ex has been waiting for.

"It's the greatest 'f--- you!' to any person you used to care about,"

guitarist Josh Partington said, "anyone who took you for granted. When

I first heard the song, I wanted to sing it to an ex-girlfriend."

The follow-up single to "Space," from their second album, North,

surfaces on radio just as Something Corporate set out on a

co-headlining tour with Yellowcard. Singer Andrew McMahon plays the

part of a jilted boyfriend lamenting over old photos and love letters

scattered across his floor in somber, warm-toned verses. In a regretful

chorus, the sad sack pleads that he'd change if only she'd let him,

before he finally delivers a venting blast of self-esteem in the

anthemic bridge.

Partington particularly likes McMahon's phrasing. "Razors on her

tongue, a body full of oxygen," he sings. "The thinning of my skin,

without the strength to go/ The winter's setting in, to cover you in

snow."

"I knew immediately it was my favorite song Andrew had ever written,"

Partington said. "By far."

Partington, who shares songwriting duties on North with McMahon

(who also wrote "Space"), liked the tune so much he didn't want a

single thing changed from the draft the band's singer/pianist brought

to the studio while recording the album, which has sold more than

222,000 copies since October.

"When we were doing the album," he recalled, "the verses were a little

bit longer than they ended up on the album because some people thought

they dragged a little. Usually the songwriter has to fight to keep all

the lyrics in, but this time it was completely the other way around.

Andrew was like, 'OK, cut it out,' and I was screaming, 'Noooo. It's so good. Every lyric is soooo good."

Something Corporate tour dates, according to Geffen Records:

• 3/18 - San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield