> Programmers will never have the luxury of collaborating with their idols
I have to strongly disagree with that. Collaboration is different among programmers as we can share our ideas with a much broader audience than most musicians. Many tools you use are the result of the collaboration of thousands of people. To say nobody is collaborating with their idols is a risky supposition.
The only part I agree is that Java (or C#) programming may be art, but not to my taste.
Copying == art? Then I know a few very, very artistic Java programmers. They even pay homage to their own packages. (Which, excuse the pun, might even qualify them for "rock star programmer" status)