C4: Music videos are an art form, okay?

By FIONA RAE

"P*** off old people, you've got your Concert FM - this is for us, the yoof," was how new music channel C4 was launched on Friday night.

Charming words from host Clarke Gayford. But yet, somehow appropriate.

The channel kicked off its first weekend with a top 100 videos of all time (as voted by viewers on its website).

No 100, somewhat conveniently, was local faves the D4, and the No 1 video was, appropriately, Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Host Jaquie Brown looked the most comfortable, while Gayford took the slightly sarcastic sidekick role.

Understandably, there were a few nerves from all the hosts, particularly Teuila Blakely later in the evening, but who really cares?

It's the videos and the music that are the real attraction - and a welcome addition to the television landscape.

C4 seems to have a determined policy of "keep it simple, stupid".

The set is merely a white space, something like The Matrix before all the guns come whooshing at Keanu and Larry Fishburne.

Except the only special effects in the C4 studio all weekend were James Coleman's gumboots and pink carry-bag, which were a good idea, as the white space is slightly tiring.

All the hosts are determinedly imparting information about the videos, occasionally at length and unnecessarily.

And the directors' names are included in the information at the bottom of the screen.

C4 is clearly signalling that it believes in music video as an art form, not just a way of selling a product.

Music video directors have become stars themselves and many film-makers, such as Spike Jonze and even our own Greg Page - whose first feature film, The Locals, just opened - started out making music videos and still occasionally take on a project.

And it was surely nice to see how far videos have come. The top 100 included quite an astute mix of old and new. In fact, the list seemed almost too good to be true.

There were some absolute gems, such as d.a. pennebaker's film of Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues.

And there were a couple of dogs, like Blondie's Rapture, which these days looks like a school project, and the utter, utter nonsense of Metallica's One.

The weekend also saw the debut of Jackass, the MTV show that spawned the movie, and plenty of complaints, in the US.

The inventiveness of the stunts is possibly what makes it funny, although some, like the motocross, are probably more fun to do than they are to watch.

The Jackasses - Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera and cohorts - are like human crash test dummies. Actually, sometimes the stunts are more a test of protective clothing, like Johnny's Box Test, or the vicious dog chasing the guy in the big pink bunny suit.

Are we ready for the rollercoaster ride of yet another music channel? Can we handle the disappointment if it doesn't work out again?

C4 has signalled its intention to make actual music programmes with specialist shows that include The Hijack, where guests get to chose their favourites (first up: Blondie), and the magazine-style The A List.

Let's hope C4 will be fourth time lucky, after the losses of Max, MTV and, most recently, M2. It's certainly made a good start.