'TFIOS' Fans, Meet Peter Van Houten's Fave Band

Now that the tears have finally dried from multiple viewings of The Fault in Our Stars , we can finally stop asking "WHY, AUGUSTUS WATERS, WHY?!" and start asking the important questions. You know, like, "What was up with that Swedish rap?"

If you remember one thing about the horrifying and excellent scene in The Fault in Our Stars where Hazel and Gus finally meet their literary hero Peter Van Houten (played to perfection by Willem Dafoe), it's probably not the fact that he says some terrible things to our heroes and Hazel calls him "douche pants," but the fact that he insists on Lidewij playing Swedish rap for their young guests.

Not just Swedish rap — specifically, Van Houten barks, "Lidewij! Play Bomfalleralla." The moment goes by so fast, and I was so caught up in what a serious douche pants Van Houten was being, it's no wonder that it took me until today to really think about what this song is or who is responsible for it.

Turns out, "Bomfalleralla" is not only a real song (and on the Fault in Our Stars sound track, probably the only song on there that won't make you cry), it was also a real Swedish rap hit, even though, to any Swedes watching, it probably felt like a blast from the past. The song was a massive hit in 2004, by the Swedish hip-hop duo Afasi och Filthy (Afasi and Filthy, in English).

See, it turns out that John Green is a huge fan of the group, and referenced it in the book so he could share his love of Swedish rap with the world.

It also turns out that Swedish hip-hop has been big since the early 1980s. As a matter of fact, Swedish rapper Yung Lean has gained so much attention, a New York Times piece was written on him just last week. While the Swedish hip-hop scene is still going strong, Afasi och Filthy is not— the duo broke up in 2009.

Luckily, with five albums of its own and a featured spot on the TFIOS sound track, they've left quite a legacy behind. Plus, once you listen to them, it'll be hard to get out of your head.

Check out "Bomfalleralla" below if you don't believe me:

Images: Afasi och Filty/MySpace; Giphy (1)