type ghosts out of my system by doing all that." Reportedly, when Brian Wilson was played the Dukes' "Pale and Precious", a pastiche of the Beach Boys, he thought it was styled after Paul McCartney. Lyricism and English culture XTC are noted for their "Englishness". Partridge denied that this was conscious on his part: "I don't try to be English. I guess because I am English, it comes out English. But I don't sit down and think, "Cor blimey, can I put a union jack and a beefeater's outfit on, Mary?" British music critic John Harris identified Partridge's XTC compositions as within the same "lineage" of rural English songwriting invented by Ray Davies of the Kinks, and followed by the Jam, the Specials, "scores of half-forgotten punk and new wave bands," the Smiths and mid 1990s Britpop. In Partridge's opinion, the band "never got beyond Swindon." He also felt that XTC being described as "pastoral" was a compliment: "'Pastoral' to me means being more in touch with the country than the city, which I think we are. London gives me the willies." Lyrically, he cited Ray Davies, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney as his biggest influences. According to biographer Neville Farmer, Partridge and Moulding tended to write about "more general aspects of their lives and their attitudes". Farmer added that "Colin nor Andy handle political or religious matters with subtlety. If they have an idea about something, they say it straightforwardly. They are no more embarrassed about their view on the world than Andy is about his sex life. That makes them easy targets for criticism." For Partridge, other popular subject matter included financial shortage, factory work, comic book characters, seafaring, war, and ancient rituals. He described himself as an atheist and said he did not become interested in politics until circa 1979, when he voted for Margaret Thatcher "purely because she was a woman. I was that naive. Now I'm very left." Recognition and influence Writing for AllMusic, music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine recognises the group thusly: XTC were one of the progenitors of Britpop, were influential to later power pop acts such as Jellyfish and the Apples in Stereo, and anticipated the indie/art pop bands of the 2000s. They also inspired tribute bands, tribute albums, fan conventions, and fansites. Dave Gregory said that he became aware of XTC's "huge" influence on American acts through his interactions with musicians