Emails saying that we’re overlooking the big picture. Letters arguing that we’re “way out of touch with the times” and that we should focus on what’s “important.” Then there are those notes tied to the rocks thrown through our windows each morning claiming, that with all the strife and conflict in today’s world, tour dates, such as the routings for Sarah Brightman and the endless list of Vegas dates for Celine Dion, are no longer “relevant” within the context of “current affairs.”

Balderdash!

Sure, such criticism would be appropriate if we were CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox News or Trading Spaces, but when you run a Web site that enjoys the combined ratings of all of those information outlets, one must consider what is important and what is only the passing interest of the day. Are the latest numbers from Wall Street significant? Maybe today, but what about next month when you’re sitting in a dark sports arena waiting for Shania Twain to hit the stage? Will you still remember today’s closing Dow Index when the spotlight shines on Canada’s favorite daughter of country music? We think not.

It’s an unverifiable fact that the world is made up of those who love concerts and people who represent the dregs of our society. Hard to believe but true that there are those who could care less about the latest dates for Barenaked Ladies or the remaining December dates for Simon & Garfunkel. Instead, they prefer to get their so-called news through talk radio, Internet forums and old-fashioned, hard-copy publications such as The New York Times, Washington Post, and Playboy. Heck, when you consider the number of people who don’t know that Elvis Costello is playing Boston on February 27, or that Bryan Adams is appearing in Chicago on January 5, it’s no wonder the world is in the mess it is today.

However, since this Web site is the world’s leader in relevant information, we must keep in mind that it is our mission to be all things to all people regardless of whether they want the scoop on Brad Paisley or Jewel, or if they’d rather know what went down at the latest debate between the Democrat contenders for the White House. As if anyone can name them all, anyway.

That is why it is our new policy to bring you all the news, big and small. Yes, we’ll keep on bringing you the latest on Kid Rock, John Mayer and George Strait, but we’ll also include those news stories that a very small segment of the audience deems important. And maybe, just maybe, this new policy of covering all the bases will win the hearts and minds of those who are totally oblivious to the real news of the day, and they too will come to realize the importance of staying current with the concert information that spins this crazy green ball we call Earth.

So today we bring you the dates for Metallica, the Euro engagements for Counting Crows, the news that Saddam what’s-his-name has been captured, and the January schedule for Hilary Duff. There! That should satisfy even the loudest of critics.

Now can we all move on?