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Three months after our chat, which took place as Gaga was putting the finishing touches on her latest studio album, I can see why the old days were on her mind: “Mayhem,” which came out Friday, is teeming with affectionate references to the likes of David Bowie, Blondie, Nine Inch Nails, New Order and Chic; it also alludes to earlier songs by Lady Gaga, not least her 2009 smash “Bad Romance,” which echoes through several of her new tracks.

He has played with bands like Blondie, The Faces, and Primal Scream as well as the recently reformed Pistols, has written two books about his life in music, and his latest solo LP is Consequences Coming.

“It's a weeknight workhorse that bakes up a perfect portion of treats in a little over a half hour from start to finish. As a bonus, it's got just one egg, one stick of butter, one kind of sugar and no baking powder or baking soda, so it bakes up more densely than your typical blondie — exactly what I wanted from something with the elevating element of pumpkin going for it.”

As she dug into the existence of her family members and icons of the New Wave scene — not the MTV-ready icons most Americans know such as Blondie or Billy Idol, but a separate echelon of Vietnamese artists — she discovered a tapestry of broken dreams and unmet expectations beneath the surface.

Nobody knew who this mysterious blondie was, but her billboards attracted the public’s attention — leading to offers from film studios and magazines.