I have read a lot about Google paying less attention to links and more to content. Which is more important to spend time on, links or getting new fresh content?
Both - You can't neglect one over the other, they are both equaly important if you want high rankings.
You have to focus on both, I think the best solution is to find a good balance between decent content and quality backlinks.
Both are extremely important... Content reflects quality of your website while backlinks determine how trustworthy your site is for other websites. Google paying less attention to those links which are less relevant, worthless and spammy. Google is less concerned with number of backlinks, it wants quality backlinks to rank your website high.
Quality Content in your site + a quality content that is published on other site but has a link back to you..