Nope, not at all. I'm right there with you. I mean, music criticism can be a lot of things- but up its own arse is definitely near the top of the list (in an interesting way though, I agree). I haven't read those two articles yet (well maybe I read the Sanneh bit linked to in the Slate article back when Ms. Simpson did her little jig, I can't remember). When I have seen people puzzling over questions like rockism, it seems to me to be an extension of a critical thread that goes back to when music itself seemed to some to possess a revolutionary power that would have been a bit more concrete and immediate than how things actually played out- i.e. when a lot of threads culminated in various punk-related activities that seemed to really have the potential to overthrow the powers-that-be rather than be incorporated into them.

But I should also admit that I'm a big geek too.
"One of Wilson's tentative conclusions is that critics should spend some time trying to understand other's tastes rather than building ideological buttresses to bolster their own."
Yeah.

That poptimist article I actually found interesting for some of what it had to say, now that I've read it. I noticed when I got to the bottom that it was written by the same dude who panned Matisyahu like I've been trying to do since before I heard any of his songs. But at the same time, I'm also the hypocrite who on a certain level is ready for a bit of a gluttony backlash, even as I download more than I can ever get through.