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Even before Rock Band came out I'd expressed my desire for someone to produce a rhythm genre game that allowed for full user-generated songs. 
Focus on user-created content...which AFAIK no one has attempted. It's basically a combination of social networking + rhythm games (Rock Band) + OurStage.com/SessionSound.com. Let's say the guitar controller was expanded so that the "frets" had buttons the entire length of the neck. Perhaps around 20 buttons. Combine that with a drum kit and microphone.
Programmed plugin snippets could provide guidance for creating custom songs...kind of like a Little Big Planet for music. People could then make their own songs and it'd be distributed in a social network, with the better songs getting rated higher. Have contests and "tours" where you play other people's content. Other players can be "fans in the crowd". The whole Rock Band thing with a customizable character that looks like the real people. As bands become more popular in the social network they get access to cooler stuff. Essentially people could become virtual rock stars. The key would be to make the editor tools as user-friendly as possible. For example, the drummer could play a quick beat. Save that snippet, repeat it throughout the song, then go in and modify certain sections. Now this could be a multiplayer game where everyone is working on their portions at the same time...the problem is matching up the result. Lo and behold I find out yesterday that Guitar Hero World Tour will include user created content. Sounds like it's almst exactly what I wanted; glad someone else had the idea!  Only negative is that it won't record voiceovers. Which makes sense if they're worried about file sizes/bandwidth...but personally I wouldn't want the audio actually recorded/compressed. Instead, the game would generate a file that records the user-generated lyrics (via voice-to-text), the timing/beat for words, and the tone. That's it. So other players may not be capable of hearing your voice but they'd at least be able to sing it themselves. Personally I think the lack of this vocalist feature will severely limit the custom songs popularity. I love Joe Satriani, who rarely uses vocals, but I would think most people want vocals.
There are other music/beat/song-based games but for the most part I seem them as gimmicky. For example, the problem with Patapon is there is no music. The "beats" are just an abstraction layer for giving commands. Might as well call them "combo moves" because that's exactly what they are.
I've seen other interesting attempts at using sound as the focus for gameplay but nothing that directly uses music in a truly fun fashion. WiiMusic might be the best example..but I haven't tried it and honestly it strikes me as dumb. Although perhaps the new Wiimotes will allow the game to be controllable and not just wild flailing of limbs. That's always been a problem with the Wii's novelty games...the player does not feel in control.
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BLOGOSPHERE 
im suppa special;
the first commenter