Light weight is mostly hype (been there too). There is a borderline on where weight makes a difference though, and to me it's about 34-36 lb's.
i'm not sure if i agree. a bike 10 lbs. lighter than that which can still handle a day of trail riding makes a huge difference. sure, if you are more interested in big drops more suspension is needed. i brought up the issue of geography in part because maybe it's that in a lot of places you don't have the climbing that i'm used to. most riding here requires climbing thousands of feet, and a 35 lb. bike takes it's toll. i'm not a weight freak or anything, but the 3 hours i spend climbing i want to be somewhat efficient, and for the 45 min. i spend coming back down i only need something that will smooth it all out.